An Oddity Throughout RWBY
by R26
Summary: Me and the boys enter Remnant through some convoluted series of events. Need I say more? SI/OCs (Yes you didn't read that wrong, OCs, not OC). How will that turn out? No f*cking idea. Will we make it better, or just screw it up even further?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N**_

**For stress relief, me and a friend discussed what will happen if we were teleported to RWBY's Remenant, and told me I should publish it.**

**Simple enough... Right?**

**We're taking**** it on a more comical twist to the story based on what we really would do if we're to go in Remenant.**

**Updates my vary.**

Grass.

Fresh grass, just like ones from a mountaintop.

Or... A forest.

That was the scent that filled my nostrills as my eyes fluttered open as bits and pieces of sunlight pierced my eyelids.

"What... The... Fuck?"

That was all I had to say aloud as I held my side and got up.

How did this happen?

Why does my sides hurt?

Standing in a clearing, engulfed by a thick jungle full of mossy, tall trees, reigning over my head like a rooftop over a house, leaving very little sunlight to penetrate through, leaving little for my blurry vision to see.

At least there was shade... This couldn't be all that bad...

Wrong.

Growling and snarling could be heard as what looked like a sillouethe of a bear stepped into the clearing, sniffing prey (me) as it licked it's lips and pointed it's snout in my direction.

Without a second thought, I raised both arms in the air and made loud noises, hoping it would go away.

Bear Grylls would be proud.

The bear then tilted it's head in confusion, and then charged at me anyways.

"Why isn't it working?!" I shouted. "Did Discovery Channel lie to me?!"

Upon very close inspection (by that I meant by a meter or so, and advancing rapidly) my vision finally sharpened. It was then that I realized, that the bear wasn't a bear at all. It was black, had some sort of white mask to it, and had red glowing eyes.

I quickly proned to avoid the incoming beast, letting the bear crash into a tree behind me, and ran in a direction that hopefully did not lead to a dead end.

"How did this happen?" I mumbled under my ragged breath. I dug my pockets for my phone, a relatively new Nokia 6, in hopes of contacting somebody, anybody really, to help. On the tip of my fingers, I felt something, but it didn't feel big enough to be my phone. It felt like smooth and cold , somewhat metallic in material, but it was as thin as a small stack of paper.

I took out said item from my old black, and slightly rugged Adidas jacket, with its logo sticker on my chest half torn and half fading away, and found that it was some sort of technology that I haven't encountered before. Extending said device, it revealed a teal tinted coloured glass that pretty much looks like a phone, and its see through.

"Compactable holographic phones? When was that a thing?" I asked aloud. Then I noticed something familiar about the design, like I've seen it somewhere before...

_Slam _

_Crack_

I ran head first into a massive tree trunk, and slid to the ground face first.

"Argh... Fuck!" I cursed under my ragged breath, as I ran my fingers to my face, expecting my nose to be broken. Surprisingly, it wasn't, and there was blood, but it was gushing out of my forehead. Rubbing my temple where the wound was, and wincing in pain, I sat down to catch my breath.

How long have I been running? Five minutes? Six? Perhaps I lost that weird bear creature.

Then again, just like this device, I'm sure I've seen that creature somewhere before...

"Wahoo!" Shouts of joy filled the air, followed by a couple of loud shots from shotguns could be heard, as I looked up to see a streak of gold going at inhumane speeds passing by my head.

"What?" I asked as I got up to my knees, wiping the blood from my head. Then a high pitched scream of agony could be heard, as someone flailing their hands flew overhead, asking himself what a 'landing strategy' is, followed by a thump of what sounded like a sharp object piercing a tree.

"I'm sorry!" I heard from the trees not too far away.

Where have I seen this before... It's all so familiar.

Am I experiencing Deja vu?

Did I hike with a group of friends before?

And perhaps got lost when I decided to explore alone?

Without a moment of hesitation, I ran towards the direction where I heard the sharp object landing. I mean, someone lost in this wildness wouldn't leave their weapon behind, right?

_Later_

I ran for a few more minutes in said direction to find source of said noise, surprised to find a familiar looking blonde boy with ivory plated armour, and golden outlines and orange sleeves that ran all the way to his forearms has found himself stuck to a tree, by a red spear with golden engravings stuck to his dark grey hoodie that has an orange interior, barely missing his head.

"Wait a minute." I said to myself. "I have seen this before... This is RWBY!" I said a little louder then I should have, catching the attention of the golden haired boy.

"Did you just say Ruby?" The blonde asked, looking in my direction. "Have you seen her? Can you like, call her to get me down from here?"

I gulped as I noticed my mistake, and took a step forward, until I heard somebody mumbling and grumbling. With the clicking of heels on gravel getting closer, I walked back into the darkness.

"Wait!" The blonde boy shouted. "Where are you going?"

I watched from the shadows as a white heiress made her way into the area, glancing up for just a slight second with her arms crossed on her chest, and then huffing and walking in the opposite direction, along with a distant "You came back!"

"Yeah, there's no mistaking it." I whispered to myself. This... Is RWBY, as to where, I'm in the Emerald Forest.

How did I even get here in the first place?

If I'm gonna make it out alive, I'm gonna have to find someone with a weapon, or at least... while I'm here... might as well retrive a chess piece.

I looked over to Jaune, and another clicking of heels could be heard as a red haired girl made it through the woods. Phyrra, glanced up and asked Jaune "Jaune? Do you... have any spots left in your team?"

"Very funny." Jaune replied, crossing his arms.

"If anything, the last thing I want to do is get impaled by a Deathstalker." I whispered to myself, weighing out the options. Tiptoeing, I tried to find my bearings so that I can find where the ruins is, and get out of here as soon as possible.

_Much Later..._

"Think this is it?" I heard as I made it through a huge clearing, thankfully, not running into any Grimm along the way. If my memory serves me right... That was Yang, and judging by the old and mossy pavillion with vines entagling it up ahead, this is the place. I watched as Yang and Blake made their way down, retriving the white knight piece.

"How about a cute little pony?" Yang asked, getting a flat "Sure." As a response from Blake.

Taking a few steps forward, I watched as the two approached each other, and another high pitched scream pierced the air. No doubt about it, Jaune and Phyrra had ran into the Deathstalker.

"Some girl is in trouble!" Yang shouted, looking around, and both of her illiac eyes settled on me as I approached the clearing.

"Uhh... hey." I said, hoping to get a grasp if this was real or a dream.

"Hi! Who are you? I don't think I saw you at the launch pads." Yang asked. "And what happened to your forehead? Were you the damsel in distress?"

I looked at Blake and saw that her eyes flicked to me for a second. "Name's Louis." I said, introducing myself. "And no I wasn't."

"Louis? What kind of colour is that?" Yang asked. "No last names?"

"It's... not a colour. And... no." I sighed while scratching the back of my head. How do I explain to one of the main characters that I wasn't from this world? Perhaps its best that I keep my mouth shut. There's no telling what that would do.

Wait... isn't this where...

Blake pointed upwards to a yelling Ruby flailing her hands, almost landing on us, only to get intercepted by Jaune.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

Remembering this part of the episode, before things go south, I went ahead and grabbed the black rook piece and hauled my ass out of there.

"Great, another one bites the dust." Yang said as Jaune attempted to save Weiss falling out of the sky.

_After the big fight_

"...from this day forward you will work together as... team RWBY, led by, Ruby Rose." Ozpin said on stage.

"I now have another announcement to make." Ozpin said, getting the audience to stare at each other confused.

"I'm sure you all noticed how all 12 students are already rounded up into teams. However..."

"Will Louis please come on stage."

"Who?" A rouse of whispers and chatters in the crowd brew.

I nervously stepped to the stage, each step getting heavier as I stole a glance at team RWBY, seeing Yang with a dissapointed look, pouting and her arms crossed. Not only was I nervous because I had escaped the fight, but also because I didn't know what to expect from Ozpin.

"Apparently, after running through the papers a second time, we have two more students who were in the initiation, but weren't on the launch pada. They apparently took a head start by diving into the forest the night before." Ozpin said, getting the rouse of whispers to grow louder, echoing off the walls.

What?

Since when did I register to enroll at Beacon?

How did I survive a whole night?

...

Wait... did Ozpin just said two?

"Did you just say two students?" I asked, getting a slight nod from him as a confirmation.

"Would Evans please step on stage."

"Wait... Evans?" I asked.

A slightly hunched, disheveled man with short, curly black hair and a short, curly goatee and wide square glasses, wearing a white and green striped T-shirt and knee length cream cargo pants walked on stage. It might've been my imagination, but is he buffer? He had a skinny build beforehand.

He walked silently, arms behind his back,and took his position beside me.

"Psst." I whispered, getting him to flick his eyes and back, completely ignoring me. "Pssst." I signalled louder.

There was no doubt about it, Evans was my friend and was from my world. Maybe he could remember what had happened...

"Eh ehm." Ozpin faked a cough, getting me to stand upright and turned my vision to the crowd. "Since there are 14 students in total, Louis, you would be assigned to team RWBY."

My eyes widened as my jaw dropped and raised a brow.

"Excuse me Professor Ozpin, if I may." I intercepted quickly and as politely as possible, not wanting to show any form of disrespect the headmaster of Beacon.

He looked at me with his coffee mug at hand. "Yes?" He asked.

"With all due respect, team RWBY is consisted out of 4 women." I then glanced down to where Team RWBY was, with wide, dumbfounded eyes that is. "4 very talented and beautiful women, but women nonetheless."

"So?" He asked, not seeing the problem.

"In my w-" I stopped myself. If this was really another world, I wanted to avoid is tearing a hole in reality. For a second there, I was sure Evans almost clamped his hand over my mouth, but stopped himself as he stared back into the crowd.

"In my house, and in my previous schools." I corrected myself. "Segregation was still a thing. Actually why do we even have mixed teams?"

"Here in Beacon, genders or opposite sex don't matter, what matters is that you learn to work as a team. Also, it's a shame that you ran into miss Xiao Long first then." Ozpin said with a calm voice, face still as enigmatic and unreadable as ever.

I scanned the crowd to see 3 girls who's eyes widened even further as their jaws slammed to their feet, along with Ruby, who waved a friendly hand at me.

Right... She's too young to see a problem.

"You had CCTV's planted in the forest?" I asked as a last form of salvation.

"What's a CCTV?" Ozpin asked as he raised a brow.

I look to Evans for support, but he just pokerfaced while looking at the crowd. However, I can see a small tug at the edge of his lips, indicating a smug smirk forming. It was too funny for him to pokerface all the way through.

Fuck...

Don't get me wrong, to any other man, the idea of staying at the quarters with 4 beautiful women sounds like a dream coming true.

However...

If there was one thing I've learnt, is that Harem MC's tend to get beaten the crap out of in the case of any 'Accidents' happening. They had plot armour that let them live, wether it was getting launched into the sky with a single punch, getting kicked into a concrete wall, or getting half your head ripped off by a baseball bat with spikes on it. I... did not have such protection. Heck, I don't think I even have 'Aura' to defend myself with, and I confirmed it when I hit my head on that tree this morning.

"Evans, you will be assigned to team CRDL, all the best for you two." Ozpin finished. "Dismissed."

Of course Evans got the easy way out with 4 men who are the bullies, why not.

I walked off stage to approach Evans once more, only for someone to grab to collar of my jacket, ripping me away from the crowd and pinned me to a wall.

"If you think you can run away from this one..." Yang growled as her eyes turned crimson. "You're wrong."

"Hey, I wasn't the one who chose your team." I said calmly, even though my mind was racing and my heart was beating out of my chest, as I raised my sweaty palms. "I also tried to swap, but he won't let me. You saw that."

"Yang, put him down." Ruby said. "What could go wrong?"

"A lot of things!" Her team shouted in unison.

"C'mon, it couldn't be that bad, could it?" Ruby shrugged innocently as she extended her hand. "Hi, my name's Ruby, Ruby Rose."

"Louis." I replied as I felt my foot touch the ground, and Yang's fist on my collar unclenching. I bowed instead of taking her hand so that she wouldn't sense how nervous I was about to be pummeled by her overprotective sister.

"Louis huh? What kind of colour is that?"

"Its not a... nevermind."

"Looks like you hit your head hard." Blake said, pointing towards the scar in my forehead. "How'd you get into Beacon without unlocking your aura?"

"I don't know myself. Let's just... head to the dorminatory. I can tend to my wounds later on."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "That looked like it hurt."

"I'll be fine, lets just... see our living quarters, shall we?" I sighed and started walking towards the dorms.

That went smoothly... I think.

I'm still alive. That's smooth enough.


	2. Chapter 2

"You girls can go unpack." I said when Ruby opened the doors to the dorm room. "I... need to find someone."

"Someone you know?" Weiss asked. "Its gonna be rare, finding friends here, considering your lack of talent and skills."

"You could say that." I replied as I walked off, ignoring her sass. "Also Ruby, I vote yes for bunk beds." I yelled behind me.

Right, Weiss was a complete bitch at Volume 1. How can I forget?

"Well, this is gonna go well." Blake said, walking into the room. "As long as he leaves me alone."

"Seconded." Yang shrugged, as she walked into the room.

"Hmph." Weiss huffed and strolled into the dorms.

"Way to be a team leader Ruby." Ruby scolded herself as she dragged her body into the room, "Wait a minute... Bunk beds?" she asked herself, closing the door behind her.

_After a few minutes of getting lost in the hallways._

Where the hell was team CRDL's dorm room? I need to talk to Evans...

Multiple questions popped into my head as I thought about the recent events that just unfolded.

Could he be the same Evans that I know?

He certainly looked like it, but what if he wasn't?

Maybe it was another Evans from an alternate dimension.

Why did he ignore me?

What had happened beforehand?

_Thwack_

Looking down and not paying attention to where I was walking, I bumped into someone, getting both of us to tumble and fall.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry!" I apologized, and looked up, and saw Evans rubbing his head. "Evans?"

"What the hell man? Why'd you ignore me?" I asked as I got up, getting him to crane his neck, looking for possible witnesses, only to grab me by my jacket and drag me away to an empty corner at the end of the hallway, consisting of only a small window pane for ventilation.

"This... is insane." He started. "Are we... really in Remenant?"

"No shit." I replied with a deadpan look. "You have any idea who teleported us here?"

"No, I didn't think it was even possible."

"How about who registered us?"

"No clue."

Okay... So both of us are completely clueless on how we got here.

And whoever registered us remains anonymous.

"Why'd you ignore me on stage?"

"I thought it would tear a hole in the space and time. We watched a lot of sci fi movies together, you know how it goes, we can't let any of them know we're from the same world." He muttered.

"Well, you have a point." I realized, dropping my voice to a whisper. "You remember anything before we got here though?"

"Adrian..." He muttered, trying hard to remember as he rubbed his nose ridge. " We were punching it at 190. We were drifting down a mountain, and swerved out of control."

"HE WHAT?!"

Shit.

It was all coming back to me.

We were a bunch of college students and were stressed out on assignments. One of our friends, Adrian, extended the offer to go on a trip to unwind, at the same time, get some fresh air. There was 6 of us in the car in total. The trip up was relatively tame, since it was jammed pack with traffic, getting us to drive up the mountain slow and steady. Besides, you can't expect a car carrying 6 big dudes to ascend that fast.

However...

Going down, the opposite was true. The roads were relatively empty and bumpy and the car coincidentally ran out of brake fluid. The last thing I remembered was screeching of tires. Before... nothing.

But how did we get here?

Did we die?

If this was the afterlife, was this heaven or hell?

Or worse.

Limbo.

"Ugh..." I sighed as I rubbed my nose ridge. "Yeah, I remember it all now."

"What should we do? Not that I mind being stuck here but..."

"I know."

Wait a minute. If we're stuck here in Remenant, and it was just the beginning of Volume 1...

"I have an idea."

A wide grin spread across my face getting Evans to stagger backwards, his back hitting the wall with a soft thump as he stared at me.

"That smile. You always had it when you have one of your batshit insane ideas."

"Relax Raiden. I'm not your typical Senator Armstrong." I scowled and rolled my eyes.

"Maybe I do." I admitted. "Wanna advance a couple of plot points? Maybe even tweak a little to prevent the Cordovin battle at 6 to like, not last 3 episodes?"

"Whew, I thought you were gonna go for the Harem MC route in those Visual Novels."

...

"What do you take me for?" I asked with both a deadpanned look and an equally deadpanned tone.

He just shrugged. "Hey, I'm not the one staying with 4 women."

...

"Asshat."

"So..." He continued, ignoring my comment. "Which plots do we wanna try to tweak? Are we seriously Flashpointing this shit?"

"Well, since you're part of team CRDL, thats a plus, you can play the role for trashtalker, maybe even pass an idea or two to the jocks, making faster and hopefully, more impactful character development for Jaune."

"Thats... not a bad idea." He said, rubbing his chin.

"I'll probably be the cold one, that eventually warms up to people."

"So like a tsundere."

...

"What?! No!"

"That's what a tsundere does."

...

"I'm not taking Monty's masterpiece and making it into a typical anime romance story!"

"This is your chance to date a waifu."

...

I froze for a second, and thought about it. "No... no way in... no!" I stuttered.

Evans noticed my conflicted tone, and smirked.

"Nu uh, not doing it."

"But you want to."

...

"Can't deny that, but no!"

_A few minutes of teasing and a lot of 'No's' later._

"Okay okay." Evans said after I calmed down from my tantrum. "What should we do?"

"Well, if we wanna have these talks, it has to be behind closed doors. Then, one of our priorities has to be getting Phyrra and Jaune together."

"Agreed." He nodded. "That'll help advance the plot so much more, and much more people's hearts would break when she..."

"Not so loud." I whispered.

"You get my point. That'll have so much more of an impact on both the audience and the characters." This was true.

"Maybe we could even prevent it." I said, then I added. "And being one of the jocks, maybe we can reveal Blake's secret faster then the plot could?"

"You do realize she has 2 pairs of ears and nightvision right?"

"Right... you'll have to time that perfectly. It isn't gonna be easy-"

It was at that moment, Cardin burst through one of the doors. "Hey Evans, where are ya man? Help me out with the beds will ya pal?"

"Coming!" he shouted as he walked into the corridor. "See you around man."

I just nodded, knowing that Cardin would hear me if I made any noise. Once I heard the doors click shut, I dug my pockets for my scroll, extending it once more to see that it was cracked across the flickering screen.

Great... Just when I thought I have a new medium for communication. I scrolled to my contacts and my eyes widened when all it had... was Evans contact number.

My parents, cousins, friends... All their contacts were gone.

I heaved a heavy sigh as I dragged my feet back to the dorms.

_As the sun started to set_

"They really need to put numbers on these doors." I mumbled to myself as I finally found the correct room. As I reached the doorknob, my life flashed before my eyes.

Right... better to knock first.

"Yo guys!" I asked from outside. "Is it safe for me to come in?"

"Uh, give us a few minutes!" Ruby squealed from inside.

I put my hand to my chest as I puffed out a sigh of relief. Thank god I knocked.

I let my back hit against the wall and slid down, closing my eyes to rest for a while. A few minutes later, the door opened and Yang with her hair wrapped in a towel walked out.

"It's safe now, you can come in." She said. "That's... kind of you."

"To?"

"To knock and inform us you were coming in like that."

"It's not a big deal. Just common sense. Don't want you to blow me into oblivion anyways." I shrugged and walked in, not even glancing to see a response. I advanced a few steps to see... surprise surprise, bunk beds.

"Thanks for your idea Louis!" The team leader jumped up and down in excitement. "Bunk beds was a great idea!"

"How is the only guy in our team so immature?!" Weiss complained as she stomped her foot towards me.

"Hey, you lost in terms of majority, you should be the one backing off princess." I replied, getting an irritated pout from the heiress.

"It's heiress actually." Blake corrected from her bunk, reading her book. "How did you know who would win in majority?"

"Right. Let's call it a hunch." I said. "I'm surprised my bed arrived faster then expected."

"This?" Ruby asked as she pointed towards the bed over the mat. "Yeah, a few minutes after you left it arrived!"

"Perfect." I said as I walked over and sat on my bed, taking off my shoes. "I'll be taking my rest now."

...

Team RWBY just stared at me.

"You're not gonna shower?" Yang asked.

"Too tired to." In reality, I did want to, but remembered I had no change of clothes other then the uniform which was handed out right after the announcements of teams. The trip to the mountain wasn't supposed to be overnight, and I was sure we would make it back.

"What about that gash on your forehead?" Blake asked without breaking eye contact with her book.

"It'll heal over time. The wound is closed anyways, no use in disinfecting it now."

"Disgusting pig!" Weiss exclaimed as she grabbed sanitizer and sprayed it all over her bed. "Don't you dare come anywhere near me!"

"In your dreams Ice Queen." I said as I tried to block as much light as I could out of my eyes with my forearm as I drifted to sleep.

"Pffft. He just called you Ice Queen." Ruby snickered.

"Ugh!" Weiss huffed as she rolled her eyes, and laid down in her bunk.

Advancing early plot points was a piece of cake.

_Morning_

A shrill whistle pierced the air, jolting both me and Weiss awake. "Good morning team RWBY!"

"Good lord Ruby can you please keep it down?" I asked.

"Nope! Being a member of this team mean's you have to get up the same time we do Louis! And the first order of business is..."

"...Decorating!" Yang finished.

Right. At least they won't be late... Or... They shouldn't be, considering they finished the bunk beds the night before. I checked my broken scroll to see we had 2 hours to spare before class.

"I'm gonna shower, you girls decorate the room however you want it."

"Don't you want your part of the wall?" Ruby asked.

"I'm good."

"Don't be like that!" Yang exclaimed, slinging a hand around my shoulder. "You're part of this team too! In fact, why don't you dump out your stuff here?"

Without even waiting for my permission, Yang grabbed my backpack and slid everything out.

"What... is this?" She asked, holding up a plastic wrap that held a shape of a cuboid.

"Instant noodles." I replied, taking off my jacket.

"Noodles can be... instant?" Yang asked, examining the packaging like it was some sort of alien.

Wait... they don't have instant noodles in Remenant either? No wonder some students here are straight up broke.

"Yeah, you can take those if you want, I have a lot more at home anyways-" Then I remembered something, I'm not going back home.

"Are you sure?" Yang asked as she shook the package. "Where is your home anyways?"

"Uhh... confidential?"

Everybody's eyes darted to me. "Confidential?" Ruby asked, rising up.

Ah shit, Ruby's not gonna let this one go. What am I supposed to say, think!

"Outskirts of Vacuo, not a good neighbourhood."

"See, that wasn't so hard." Yang said. "Though I can tell why you don't wanna tell us now. Dad told us about those parts. Tough neighbourhood."

"Anyways... I'm gonna shower now, have fun decorating and stuff."

Wew... that was a close one. Thank you, World of Remenant.

Now I'm painted as the cold tough guy. I hope I could act out the part.

After locking the doors, I took off my shirt and saw... rock hard abs. "When the hell was that there?" I asked myself. Oh right, it was RWBY's style, it being Volume 1, the animators were at a time constrict, with some models being re-used, heck, even the background characters are blacked out.

Judging by the size of it, it looked like I was Sun's 3D model being re used.

Other then that, nothing was out of the ordinary, same short cut black hair that was combed to the side, same brown coloured eyes, same tall figure, though the build was different.

After taking a deep breath, my hand slipped under my front pony, and flipped it. My eyes widened to see that it was mostly healed, only a small red line that was barely noticable remained.

"Oh thank god." I murmured as I walked into the shower and did what I was supposed to. I turned on the shower, and let the warm water cascade over my skin, making it bright pink as the temperature was just right. It felt like I haven't showered in a while.

"Oh... this feels great!" I exclaimed as I started to out on some soap.

_Meanwhile..._

_"When the hell was that there?"_ Louis asked as Yang put her ears to the door. "Ruby... you didn't leave anything... did you?" She asked, getting Ruby to vigorously shake her head from across the room. "Blake?"

"I don't think so?" She asked as she checked her luggage for her under garments and clothes

A soft and muffled. _"Oh thank god."_ can be heard, and Yang's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" She asked again, getting Ruby to open her luggage, taking out a plastic bag and pulling her red underwear out and waving it in front of Yang. "Okay okay!" She whispered.

"I'm sure I didn't leave mine either..." Yang said as she darted to grab her luggage, clicking it open for a quick check, and headed back to the door, running her ears on it.

_"Oh... this feels great!"_

Everybody's eyes (Except Ruby's) widened as they imagined what Louis was doing, getting their cheeks to go a little red.

"What the hell is he doing in there?!" Weiss shouted as she put her hands over her face, regretting the question she asked and not wanting to know the answer.

_In the showers..._

_"What the hell is he doing in there?!"_

Why is Weiss shouting? Is there an argument scene I missed? Are we late already? I'm sure I checked my scroll and said we had 2 hours to spare.

Unless... Cracking the screen messed with the clock function as well.

"It'll just be a few more seconds!" I shouted as I dried myself off with a towel. Jesus, I didn't even take that long.

Knowing how much of an asshole Weiss can be in Volume 1, I quickly dried my body up, and put on the uniform that laid on top of cubicle.

_Back in the room..._

_"It'll just be a few more seconds!" _

"A few more seconds?!" Yang gasped as she listened in. "That's fast! He only went in for 2 minutes! What material does he have on his scroll?"

Blake sunk her head into her book and blushed as Yang said that, knowing very well that her book she is currently reading contains such material.

"Sis, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked from across the room.

"I'll tell you when you get older." She snickered, scrambling back up to her bed as Louis's footsteps got louder.

_A few seconds later_

"Done!" I said, coming out the door. "You can take your turn now Weiss."

"Did you at least clean up?!" She shrieked from behind the covers.

"What are you? My mom? Of course I cleaned up." I replied, confused. I knew she was sassy and hygienic but man.

"I better not be smelling any of your residue on the floor, otherwise I'm calling Ozpin!" She said and got up, storming into the bathroom door and slamming it behind her.

"Residue?" I asked, looking towards the rest of the team to see their faces hidden from my sight, except Ruby, who just shrugged.

What the hell did I just missed.

I hope I didn't just change the plot entirely, just by existing.


	3. Chapter 3

After exiting professor Port's horrendously boring narcissistic lecture, with the only exciting thing being the boarbatusk fight Weiss had, Team JNPR met us outside to grab a bite.

"Hey... You're.. Louis right?" Jaune asked, extending a hand out. "Nice to meet you, Jaune Arc." He continued, and gestured towards his team who introduced themselves.

"Louis." I said, and walked pass them. Man acting isn't easy.

I feel like an ass.

I really hope that this is all worth it in the end.

"What's his deal?" Jaune asked, getting Ruby to shrug.

"I dunno, he's always been like that... I think."

"First he runs from a fight, joins our team and gave us the cold shoulder?" Yang asked, getting bumped in the shoulder by Weiss, who's approaching the balcony. "As if we need another Weiss."

Alright, now should be the point where Weiss approaches Port and questions herself about being the leader and such. Can't do much there. Won't be any more classes for the day, and the sun is still out. All the cash in my wallet has been changed to lien... I should get an upgrade.

No way I'm gonna walk of Remenant alive if I don't have a weapon. Maybe I should ask Evans if he wants to tag along.

Bump.

I wished lady luck was on my side, but apparently I did something piss her off.

Cardin got up holding his silver pauldron. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

To make matters worse, his whole team is behind him... Including Evans.

Great... Here we go.

"You ran into me on purpose didn't you?" I asked, giving a death stare to Cardin.

"Wha- you got a problem freak?" Cardin shouted, picking me up by the collar. Man they need to nerf the power levels of these guys sometimes. I'm as tall as Yatsuhashi, and Cardin isn't even that buff.

Still, I stared at him.

Evans, being at the back, shot me a worried glance. He mouthed. "You sure about this?"

My knee connected to his breastplate, sending his back to the wall.

"Cardin, you okay man?" One of his teammates rushed beside him, shooting me a dirty look.

"You're gonna pay for this!" Evans shouted.

I fixed my collar and stood over them. "Don't you ever touch me." I scowled, and walked off, praying that none of them would follow me.

Walking off into a corner at the end of the hallway, I clamped my hand over my mouth. "GAAAAAAHHHH! MOTHER FU-" I cursed loudly into my hand, the other holding my knee.

Did I just break my knee cap?

I might need to visit the med bay. Ugh, just what I needed, another bruise.

...

And probably a few broken bones.

But a necessary one.

If Cardin sees me as an easy target, he wouldn't be targeting Jaune at all. And that would be bad. Also, this way, Cardin would try to get revenge on me at Forever Fall, hopefully. Since I would be sticking to team RWBY, who's sticking to team JNPR, I should be able to advance Jaune's road to heroism pretty fast.

Also, I think I implimented self doubt in Cardin. Hopefully.

Man, now that I think about it, it sounds awfully sketchy, leaving the risk of getting stung by rapier wasps in the hands of Jaune.

Oh well.

"Welp, scratch that plan about going to town, time to head to the med bay for the rest of the day." I said to myself, limping out of campus.

_Meanwhile..._

"It's weird, don't you think?" Yang asked her team. "Why would someone, well two, spend the night in the Emerald Forest? How did they even survive?"

"Even if that was practice that's still a bit extreme." Phyrra said. "Even I wouldn't go to such lengths."

"Without an aura no less." Weiss added.

"Yeah." Blake said. "Something is off about Louis."

"Maybe he just doesn't wanna talk about it?" Ruby suggested, gobbling up some cookies. "Just like how he grew in the outskirts of Vacuo."

"Poor guy." Nora said, eating her pancakes.

"We're gonna help him though, as a team!" Ruby said, fist bumping the air.

Vrrrrr

Ruby's scroll rang. It was a call from the med bay.

"Huh, wonder if it's a buttdial."

"Hello?" She asked.

...

"WHAT?!" She shouted, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

_Later...At the med bay..._

"Ugh is this really necessary?" I asked the nurse.

"Yes, all injured students must register under the name of their teams, and all team leaders must be notified."

"Alright I guess." I said, blood soaking through my long jeans. "If that's the procedure."

Not long after, a flurry of rose petals shot past the corridors, and then a very concerned Ruby backtracked and ran up to the counter.

"First day and broken knee? How?!" She asked.

"Tripped." I shrugged, trying my best to hide away the excruciating pain that was throbbing under my thigh.

"You don't even have my semblance! Or even, a semblance at all!" She snorted. "At what speeds were you running at to break your knee cap like that."

"Listen Ruby, I don't know about you, but I don't want to dilly dally standing outside. Can you please just sign the papers so we can get this over with?"

Ugh, I sound like a dick.

"Ugh." Ruby puffed her cheeks and rolled her eyes. "Fine." She replied and took a pen which hovered above the papers. "But you have to agree on one thing."

"What would that be?" I asked as I raised my brow.

"You gotta promise to let your team help you, be you know, friendly-er."

"Actually that's two things."

"It's either that or no deal." She said, hiding the pen behind her back.

...

"I'll put it under consideration." I shrugged.

She looked at me conflicted for a moment, and then muttered under her breath as she signed the papers.

"Thank you." I said flatly, limping towards the assigned room.

A thought crossed my mind, and I looked back over my shoulder.

"Hey Ruby."

"Yeah?"

"Can you... Tell me how to assemble a weapon?"

"Of course!" She replied happily, then raised a brow. "Wait... You don't have one?" You're not supposed to have 1 either young lady. You're 15. Tai Yang could go to jail.

"Nope. Why'd you think I ran at the Emerald Forest?"

"We just thought you were a coward." Ouch.

"No... I just didn't have a weapon."

"Oh, okay! I'll teach you as soon as you get out!"

"Get better soon!" She waved as she walked back to the cafeteria.

I just put out my hand in response. Man... I wonder how Evans is doing. Pulling of a cold character is harder then I thought...

_In Team CRDL's room_

"I'll make him regret this!" Cardin shouted as he slammed his fist this knee. "Someday, he'll pay!"

"Isn't that Forever Fall trip coming up soon?" I asked. "Maybe you can get him then."

Oh god, I really hope Louis is okay. I heard loud crunching sounds the moment he decided to pull that kick off. I'm surprised the rest of team CRDL didn't notice. Why didn't he aim for his chin?

That's literally the only spot where Cardin is exposed.

"Evans, you might be my new wingman." Cardin said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "That's a great idea!"

"Thanks boss man." Evans winked and smirked. "But first, I have a certain someone in mind that could be a soft target."

"Who?" Cardin asked, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

"Velvet Scarlantina." Evans said as calmly as he could.

"Isn't that a senior?" One of his teammates asked.

"So?" Evans shrugged.

"Alright, time to plan this out boys." Cardin said. "I have my sights on another soft target. Know that Arc kid?"

After this small Jaune's arc we should be introduced to Penny and Sun. Perhaps when Cardin bullies Velvet a few weeks from now, while Blake is distracted, I can take off her bow.

_About 2 ish weeks later._

"There we go, all done!" The nurse said as I looked at my bandaged joint.

"That was... Faster then expected." I admitted.

"You can thank General Ironwood for that. Atlas tech really is next level!" The nurse exclaimed cheerfully. "Just make sure you avoid most strenuous activities, and it should be good as new in no time. You're discharged!"

I glanced at my scroll, which still had a big crack across the middle, managing to avoid epilepsy as I tried to check for the time.

"11 50.." I muttered as I rolled down my jeans to cover my wound. "Which means I'm just in time for..."

_At the cafeteria_

"Jaune... Are you okay?" Phyrra asked, getting Jaune to snap out of his daydream.

"Uh yeah! Why?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Is just that you seem a little... Not okay." Ruby said.

"Guys... I'm fine! Seriously look. A..haha..."

He then looked over to the table across, where Team CRDL was bullying a certain rabbit Faunus.

"Please stop." Velvet yelped as Cardin held her up by the ears.

_Outside the cafeteria_

"Knock knock!" I shouted from outside, kicking the doors down, getting team CRDL to flinch in surprise. "Did you miss me?"

"You..." Cardin growled, putting Velvet down and advanced towards Louis, only to get held back by Evans. "Not here boss. Remember... Forever Fall. Combat class just ended, you could get expelled.'

"Tch... Whatever..." He waved off and then jerked his chin. "Come on boys, let's go."

"That was..." Weiss said.

"Unexpected." Blake finished.

Evans eyes shone at this golden opportunity. He snuck up behind Blake and yanked at her bow, revealing her faunus trait as her cat ears fell to the side.

"Bet ya didn't expect that either did ya Kitty cat?" Evans smirked.

Uh oh... I started at Evans as Blake's eyes widened. When I said to reveal it early, this was not what I had in mind.

Then again...

I wouldn't blame Evans completely. Blake's heightened sense of awareness can make her sense targets from afar. Evans couldn't even get close without her noticing his presence. And worse, he's on team CRDL's team, making him one of the hostiles she wouldn't feel bad about taking down.

The only way to speed up the reveal is when she feels safe... Around the people she has learnt to somewhat trust after building their relationship for a month or so.

"I...I..." She stuttered, before rushing out, bumping my shoulder along the way, and leaving the doors open.

"Blake wait!" Ruby shouted, before giving Evans a dirty look, and wanted to rush out, only to get stopped by Weiss.

"I can't believe it... I was working together... With a Faunus?!"

Oh boy, here we go.

_Back at Team RWBY's dorm_

Weiss paced around back and forth restlessly in the room, her face was fuming red with rage as her brow furrowed.

"Weiss ..." Ruby started.

"Not a word, Ruby Rose." Weiss said. "Can you believe it? A Faunus right under our noses. She could be part of the White Fang for all we know!"

"She was." Louis said.

"How did you know that?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Classified." Louis replied with a straight face.

"See?! Even Louis agrees with me!" Weiss shouted as she gestured her hand towards him.

"I never agreed with you." He said, getting everybody to stare at him.

"I just confirmed that she _was _part of the White Fang. Emphasis on was."

"We should go look for her." Ruby said. "She could be anywhere by now."

"And why should I do that?!" The heiress yelled, crossing her arms. "You saw how she ran like a coward. Do you really want a person like her on our team?"

"Weiss, what's wrong with you?" Yang asked. "Why do you hate the White Fang so much?!"

"They're a bunch of terrorists! Thieves, and murderers!'

_Louis's POV_

White Fang bla bla bla. Yadda Yadda. Weiss complaining here and there, etc etc. I've seen RWBY 1-6 and rewatched 3 times. Now the only difference is that the volume is set to 100% with the bass enhanced instead of 25.

"Let's just go look for her shall we?" I suggested. "We have a trip to Forever Fall a few days from now, it'll be a shame if Blake misses it."

"Sounds splendid to me." Weiss scowled. "I don't want to stay under one roof with her."

"That's your choice." I shrugged. "I need my coffee anyways. You guys know a Starbucks branch, maybe a Mc cafe anywhere nearby?"

"What's a... Star... Bucks?" Yang asked, getting me to freeze.

"Mc... cafe? Do you mean coffee shop?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"Is this really the time for coffee?" Yang asked. "Blake's missing!"

Oh mother of...

Old habbits die hard.

"Uh.. yeah Ruby, I mean't coffee shop, a cafe if you will."

"There's one in town, I don't think there's any nearby campus grounds." Ruby said. "Think Blake went downtown?"

"Just a hunch." I shrugged once more. "She does like her tea." Though, with Evans revealing her Faunus trait faster then intended, I'm not sure where to start. There's no telling where she is.

Sun and Penny wouldn't be arriving till after Forever Fall.

_In team CRDL'S room_

"Oh that was rich! Hahahaha!' Cardin laughed, smacking his thigh.

"Haha... Yeah." Evans laughed.

"But tell me though... Uh, Woooh, how'd you know?" Cardin asked.

Evans froze as he thought of a good excuse. "Uhh, you never noticed the bow twitching?"

Cardin looked towards his teammates, and they just shrugged. "Uh... No?"

"Well I did. I thought it looked suspicious." Evans shrugged.

"Oh man, I am so gonna pull her ears next." Cardin smirked. "They looked fluffier then Velvet's."

"Can't wait." Evans chuckled.

Oh boy, I'm leaving the rest to you brother, good luck.


	4. Chapter 4

"Blakeee!" Ruby yelled out.

"Blaaaakee!" Yang followed afterwards, coning her hands over her mouth for more distance.

"We've been at this for hours, and the sun is coming down." Weiss complained.

"Weiss, she's our teammate." Ruby hissed.

"Did you not hear what I just said back at the dorms?"

"_Loud _and clear." Yang snorted, making sure to emphasize loud. "But you could at least hear her side to the story."

"I don't know what you expect of me, but I am not forgiving her, not one bit!" She stormed off.

"Ugh. I'm a horrible team leader." Ruby pouted.

"No you're not." Yang said, rubbing her shoulders. "They just... Need some time apart, that's all."

"I guess." Ruby shrugged. "But why would she run off like that? She could trust us, we're her teammates."

"It's just been a month, you can't expect too much. Right Louis?" Yang turned around to see that Louis was already gone. "Louis?"

"That bastard!" She yelled aloud. "He left us!"

"Can this day get... any worse?" Ruby sighed.

_Louis's POV_

Alrighty, everything is set.

I got my new scroll,

sweet.

Asked a blacksmith for weapon parts according to my specs,

great.

I went out of the bakery as I ate my croissant, nibbling it as the buttery taste melted at the edge of my tounge.

delicious.

Now

What was I doing in town again?

Oh right

Blake.

_A few minutes later_

"Blake!' I called out.

Checked the docks, not there

Checked the cafe, not there.

Checked the port, not there.

If I were a cat, where would I be...

I walked over to an alley, and looked to my right to hear soft sobbing.

Bingo. By the dumpsters!

Of course.

"Blake?" I called out, walking behind the dumpsters, seeing her knees to her head tucked above her arms.

"Go away." She ushered, hugging her knees tighter.

Right... I'm not a Sun, or a faunus for that matter. Of course she doesn't trust me.

"Blake, everybody's worried sick. Let's go."

"No! You don't understand!"

...

"What? About the Schnee's labour force being underpaid Faunus?"

...

"About you and the White Fang?"

She looked up to me with puffy red eyes while her cat ears twitched.

Don't even think about it Louis... Play it cool.

"How did you know?"

"I have my sources. My uh... Cousin used to be a White Fang member. She's a dog Faunus. She mentioned seeing a black cat Faunus near their leader every once and a while. Before that she had worked as part of the Schnee's labour force.. Trust me, I know."

I wasn't completely lying, my cousin's a bitch.

And she's part of the KKK.

And she used to be underpaid in a factory in Chernobyl.

That's somewhat close enough... Right?

The moment I mentioned 'White Fang' Her eyes widened.

I know about you and Adam Taurus too. But that remained unsaid. That would develop suspicion in me, and possible doubt. Though we need to do something about him one shotting Yang later on...

"Who... are you?"

"I'm... just a guy who can't stand to see a friend get hurt."

"I'm... your friend?"

"Was there ever a doubt?" I shrugged and scratched the back of my head. "You can trust me. Although I don't completely agree with the way the Fang runs things now, I know they used to be a peaceful organization." I said, extending out a hand. "I'm willing to hear your side of the story. If you'll let me."

She sniffled before her amber eyes met me one more time, and her ears twitched again.

Resist it Louis...

Resist the urge to touch those...

Fluffy... Ears...

"You're... taking this fairly well." She craned her neck.

"What? About you being a faunus?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not racist. I've lived in the presence of faunus kind since I was young anyways, so..." Strays were a thing in my neighbourhood.

...

"Okay." She muttered as she took my hand.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I pulled her up.

"Why don't you tell me your story over some coffee?" I offered, getting her to smile.

"Sure." She replied with a small smile. "Tea."

_Later on..._

"... And that's basically how I got involved with the White Fang."

"Mhmm." I listened quietly before I blew my black coffee. Compared to Weiss's nagging, I somewhat like listening to Blake's backstory. Without any 2D motion comic to obstruct my vision though, I kept my eyes to her cat ears, which was constantly twitching and flicking throughout her story.

"No comment?"

"Interesting past. I'm not judging. By the looks of it, the White Fang really did start off with good intentions. I doubt you would ever join them if they are what they are now back then.

"Yeah but..."

"Life isn't perfect. No matter how you see it, we'll make mistakes we eventually regret. I know I have. Next time a problem like this arises, just go to your team."

"Like they'll ever forgive me if they know..."

"They will."

"Excuse me?"

"They will." I repeated. "I know they will. You've trusted them with your life haven't you?"

"Well yeah but this is-"

"And have they ever let you down?"

Blake's cat ears fell to her sides as the steam from her tea brushed past her cheeks.

"No..." She answered.

"Please Blake. Just let your team help you. I doubt they'll look into your past if it concerns you that much, and I'm sure that instead, they'll wanna protect you from people like Cardin, who bullies Faunus kind."

She bit her lip as she thought about it hard and well, not noticing the approaching waiter.

"Excuse me madame." The waiter interupted. "Your fish and chips."

"I didn't order..." She said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"It's mine." I said, gesturing towards the table, where he set the platter. I then pushed it so that the food rests in front of Blake.

Blake's eyes widened while her stomach growled.

"On the house." I shrugged.

Her fingers curled into paws as drool started to trickle at the edge of her lips, her cat ears twitching wildly and her eyes gleamed like stars.

"Wait..." She realized, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, and backing off into her seat and trying to resist the urge to eat the delicacy in front of her. "This isn't a... Date...by any chance, is it?"

Cough cough

"Heavens no." I said, as my coffee spilled to the floor and my clothes. Lucky it was warm, otherwise it would've singed my thighs. Also lucky that I didn't cover Blake with it, she wouldn't like that.

Though with the way her ears twitched, she got some on her as well.

"If you tell anybody about this, I will end you." I glared to my potential.

"So..." She hissed, squinting her eyes. "What is this for?'

"You haven't eaten dinner." I shrugged. "Consider it thanks."

"For what?" She asked, narrowing her eyes even more.

"Fanservice."

"Fan... Whatvice?"

...

"Nevermind. Just eat." I muttered as I rolled my eyes. Might've said too much.

...

...

"It's not poisoned is it?"

"Blake. I know we only known each other for a month."

"Less."

"Excuse me?"

"Due to your injury, we've only known each other for at most, a week and a half."

...

"Right, point is, it's not poisoned."

...

Blake sniffed the fish and chips, running her nose from its head to tail.

"Hmm..." She observed, poking it with a fork.

And this is why I don't do kind gestures often.

"O...kay, I don't sniff anything suspicious."

"Good, can you get to eating it? People are starting to stare..."

"Probably because I'm a Faunus."

"It's not because your a Faunus."

"How can you tell?"

"I'm human. I would still be staring at you right now Faunus or not."

...

...

"SO THIS IS A DATE!"

"ITS NOT A DATE!"

"It is!" She blushed, cat ears standing up alert. "Why else would you buy me dinner?"

"Just... Just eat up please, before it gets cold." I muttered, putting my face in my palms as my elbows touched the table. "It's not a date, and it's not poisoned."

This world is just as brutal as the real one.

This... is why people can't do nice things.

This... is why people can't recieve nice things.

Blake sat down, dragging the chair behind her, her amber eyes not leaving me for a second.

Even as she cut her fish and chips, and put it to her mouth, she didn't break eye contact, as if she wanted to pierce my soul with just her eyesight.

Though I wouldn't decline that her blushing isn't cute.

Ugh.

What have I gotten myself into?

_Later, around Midnight_

I'm dead exhausted...

"We're back..." I said as I opened the doors to the dorms.

"Louis? Where have you been?" Yang asked as she stared at me walking into the room, her tone deep and serious.

"Doing useful stuff." I huffed as I fell flat to my bed.

...

"What stuff?" She asked, walking over to my bed with crimson eyes, ready to pick me up by the collar.

"You went missing for the whole day, only to appear at the dead of night, tired, sweaty, and acting like a piece of shit?!" She yelled.

"Can you hold your temper for just one second?!" I shouted, getting up.

Ruby and Weiss looked like they wanted to interfere, but, after an unsettling aura fell on them, instead decided it was wise to take a few steps back.

It was a long day.

A long, tiring day.

A lot of effort was put into dragging a certain cat Faunus back to home base without her suspicion in me growing as if I were to take her into some kind of love hotel, or drug her.

Something snapped in me.

That's it.

"You!" I yelled, pushing a finger on her collarbone. "Need to chill out! I decided it was better that we split if we were to cover more ground! What have you come back with?! No results!"

"As if you did?!" Yang yelled back, gritting her teeth.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I did!"

"Wha..." She lowered her fist and her crimson eyes turned back to illiac.

...

"You're keeping everybody waiting y'know." I said through my heavy breaths.

The rest of team RWBY looked to me for answers, but as soon as those words left my mouth, they looked towards the doorway to find a certain cat faunus standing there.

"BLAKE!" Ruby shouted and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I've missed you! Where have you been all day? And why do you smell like... garbage, fish and a tinge of coffee?"

"Long story." She muttered as she entered the room. Her ears dropped once she caught sights of a certain heiress, and then started to open her mouth as her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Weiss I-"

"Stop. Stop right there."

"Huh?"

"Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you? We just got back too you know."

"Guys, I-"

Blake then looked up into the heiress's eyes.

"A certain... Someone" The heiress started, looking at me. "Told me that you used to be part of the White Fang."

"Who?"

"I have my sources." She said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but I'm no longer associated with the-"

"Abababap. Stop. So, this is true?"

"Yes." She admitted, her cat ears falling to her sides.

"But you're no longer working for them right?"

"Huh?" Blake asked, her gaze meeting Weiss's once more. "No, I haven't been since I-"

"Okay, then I don't care." Weiss admitted.

"You... don't care?" Blake asked, confused.

"No, as long as you're not with them anymore. The past is the past, can't change that."

"You... have a past with them?" Blake asked, knowing very well, but wanting to hear the other side of the story.

"They stole my father's dust," She said, distraught. "Cargo trains, missing, Family and board members, children... missing. Millions worth of dust, gone."

"Weiss... I'm sorry to hear that..."

"It's okay. Just... next time something like this comes up, you come to your team. You know we're willing to help you... right?"

"Right." She looked over to me, and gave a small smile. "Thank you Louis."

All I managed to do was give a shaky thumbs up. Man that was tiring, challenging Yang. Yes she could've punched me and broke every single bone, but I didn't care, I did my part, and I did it well.

Evans, you bastard. Letting me do all the heavy lifting.

You try to talk to women damnit.

"Hey Louis..." Yang muttered, looking at the ground. "Sorry... About that."

"It's fine. We're all just... Tired... " I said, diving into my pillow face first again, too tired to act out being an ass. Actually, now might be a great time to slowly warm up to them.

"Thanks... For bringing Blake back on your own."

"Oh you wouldn't believe how hard it is." I said, looking up from my pillow to stare at Blake. "Kitty's got claws."

They all looked towards Blake, who was flustered.

"Oooh, I see what's going on..." Yang teased, forgetting all her rage that had happened for the past few minutes. "bet you took a couple of detours huh? That's why you took so long?"

"Just one actually." I said from my pillow, getting Weiss and Yang to stare at me. Blake was probably giving me a death stare.

Oh man I wished Evans was here to witness what's about to happen next.

"We went at it for hours." I said, hoping that the pillow will stifle my laugh. "With her getting down on her knees, all dirty."

"Hours?" Yang's eyes widened, and her gaze snapped between Blake and me.

"Dirty?!" Weiss stared, her cheeks slowly starting to heat up.

"Yang... what's he talking about?" Ruby asked, arms still wrapped on Blake's waist.

"Louis..." Blake grit her teeth while her cheeks lit up.

"It started as just a talk." I said, trying my best to keep a straight face. "But then I managed to get deeper as more time passes."

"Yang...?" Ruby asked, looking up at her older sister for explainations.

Oh I wish I could see the look on Blake's face right now.

Welp, I'm too deep to stop, time to blow it up.

"Sprayed some warm liquids all over my clothes too. Doesn't wash off easy y'know."

Blake, Weiss and Yang's cheeks lit up, burning crazily. Blake then lunged to try and silence me, but Ruby clung onto her, with Yang helping out. Her arms flailed wildly, almost hitting Yang in her face a couple of instances.

I burst into a muffled laughter, slightly shaking the bed as I hugged my pillow so that I won't reveal my face.

"You sprayed! Not me!" She hissed. "Some of it got in my hair too!"

"What?!" Weiss shouted, her cheeks burning brilliantly. "What were you two doing?!"

"Hey! Quiet down!" A high pitched ragged sound yelled out from across. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

That sound, it was Nora. So... She could be cranky if she wants to. Noted.

I smirked under my pillow as I try to drift off to sleep.

Today was a great day.

After a while, the room was silent once more, and Yang finally let Blake go after she decided being in a tantrum at 1 o clock in the morning wasn't such a smart idea.

She glared at me with her amber eyes, but eventually just breathed out a long sigh.

"I'll get you back for that one."

"I know you will." I replied, silently smirking as I faced upwards, but smirking nonetheless. That smirk didn't last long however, as I came to a sudden realization.

Wait... Isn't tonight when...

"Ruby, did you ran into Jaune by any chance on the way here?"

"Yup!" Ruby said gleefully.

"Did he talk to you about messing up and stuff?"

"Yup!"

"Leadership stuff?"

"Yup!"

Ruby then narrowed her eyes on me, who was looking at her eyes to eyes. "Hey... how'd you know?"

"He looked pretty down when I entered the cafeteria." I replied. "Oobleck mad we didn't show up?"

"I'm starting to think you're telepathic." Ruby scowled, squinting her eyes. "Are you?"

"Nope." I replied.

"Just... very good with the guessing game."

Ah fuck, Jaune and Phyrra will have to hold till next time.

"So..." Yang snickered. "Think it's time we Blake the ice."

"Uuuughh..." I groaned from under my covers. "Yang please... Shut up."

"What? I really think that this is a chance for Blake to be Weiss and re introduce herself."

"I agree with Louis for once, shut it." Weiss crossed her arms, annoyed. "Or else I'll ask Nora to break your legs."

"Don't you mean, Blake my legs?"

Blake giggled as her cat ears stood up, and then sat on her bed, and pulled out a book.


	5. Chapter 5

"Your job is to gather sap from these trees. But be careful." Glynda Goodwitch warned. "These forests are infested with Grimm. Make sure you have a partner at all times."

Forever Fall was a sight to behold, the density of red trees grew as we got deeper, all having the same red leaves that fall down, creating a sea of scarlet that crunched with every step we took. The sunlight we got there was decently comfortable, making the enviroment not too hot.

"Blake, you and Weiss can gather some over there." Ruby said with her usual, jittery hype. "Me, Louis and Yang could gather some from here."

"Sure." Weiss nodded.

"Okay." Blake agreed.

Blake, right after her secret was out to basically the entire school, she decided it was time to lose to bow. She kept throwing dirty glared at Evans though, even though she never asked for her bow back. I hope she knows we're doing her a favour. Speaking of which...

Evans... team CRDL should be isolating himself right about...

"Come on buddy." Cardin said, dragging Jaune by his hoodie. "Lets go."

Now. I thought to myself, looking over my shoulder to see Team CRDL +J and E heading off, with the rest of Team JNPR exploring other parts of the woods.

"Louis... Louis!" Yang yelled, getting me to snap out. "Here! Your jar!" Yang said.

"Thanks Yang." I said, having a small smile tug on the edge of my lips.

"Huh... that's the first time I ever saw you smile." Yang smirked, raising a brow.

"Huh, I probably thought it wasn't necesarry anymore." I shrugged, keeping the smile. "Where I come from, smiles can get you killed. It's a weakness, not a strength."

"Not around us pal!" Yang said, smacking me so hard I almost tripped. "Look at Ruby, look at us. How can you be friendly if you don't smile often?"

"I promised Ruby I'll try." I said, looking into her illiac eyes. "I am trying you know."

"You're worse then Ruby in socializing." Yang smirked.

"Hey!" She pouted from the tree across. "I heard that."

"You were meant to sis!" Yang laughed.

"Alright, got me there." I said, scratching the back of my head. "Let's go gather up some sap shall we?"

_about an hour later_

"Cardin... what's going on?" Jaune ask timidly.

"Payback." Cardin said, honing his eyes on Louis and Phyrra in the group.

"Make sure you get em good Jauney boy." Evans snickered.

"What?!"

"That's the girl, red haired, know it all..."

_A few minutes later_

"Yeah, that seems like a good amount of sap." I smiled at Ruby, giving her the jar.

Wait for it...

Blake's cat ears twitched.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

"What?" Weiss asked back.

"Sounds like one of our jars shattered or something."

"Nora?" Ren asked.

"Not me." She said, holding up two empty jars, but they were flawlessly free of cracks.

"Ursa Ursa!" One of Cardin's lackeys came running, bumping into Yang along the way.

"What? Where?!" Yang asked.

"Back there it's got Cardin!"

"Jaune!" Phyrra gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

Alright, looks like it's time...

"I'll go with you guys I guess." I said to Phyrra who had her spear extended, and Ruby, who had Cresent Rose fully spread. I unlatched a contraption from my waist.

An obsidian metallic grip with 2 dust cartridges at the edge of the handle. It has a U pole, made from metal that was facing up, with a spike jutting out at the end. 6 cylinders lay across the U pole, seperated by a seam.

"What the heck is that?" Ruby asked, her eyes glimmering like stars. Right... Weapon junkie.

"You'll see." I smirked. "If you're lucky."

After a few minutes of sprinting, we burst through the thickness of the woods and into a clearing, where an Alpha Ursa was about to strike down on Cardin. He held both his hands out to prepare for the incoming impact, ready to recieve a devastating blow.

But it never came.

Jaune shielded him at the last moment.

Weiss then got into a stance with Myrtenaster, where Phyrra held out her hand and said "Wait."

When the Ursa attacked from the side, Phyrra then held out her hand, causing Jaune's shield to jerk back up.

However... he didn't cut the Ursa's head off. Instead, he started to cover his head, and all of the sudden small bruises and cuts started to form on his face.

"Uhh, what?" Ruby asked.

"Jaune?!" Phyrra gasped. "What's... happening?"

This is... weird. That wasn't supposed to happen.

My gaze then went to behind Cardin, where a box labelled 'W' was turned upside down, with the lids on the sides

Oh...

Shit.

That's when I realized what was happening.

The Rapier Wasps wasn't meant to go out of the box, there was no point for the animators to put anything in it, it would just be wasting poly budget. Evans must've dropped it or kicked it open when he panicked, not having an aura and all he was afraid the Ursa would tear him to pieces.

In other words...

We're fighting something we can't see.

Might as well be a ghost.

"What is going on?!" Weiss shrieked.

"What's happening?!" Ruby added. "Why is random scars appearing on Jaune?!"

Jaune then got launched into a tree trunk, causing a depression that cracked across to be permanently embedded on it.

"Jaune!" Phyrra yelled, going beside him and checking his wounds.

"P...Phyrra?" He asked.

Looks like this is a better time then any.

I grabbed the handle, and pressed a button, fully extending it. The U pole extended like a compactable baton, with the spike hitting the ground, revealing over a meter long cylindrical tube running down the middle that glowed red with power.

"Louis...? What... is that?" Weiss asked, while taking a step back.

"Like it?" I snickered. "I call it, Bloody Berry."

"That's a stupid name for a weapon so cool!" Ruby cheered gleefully, jumping up and down. "What does it do?"

"Well." I said as a huge shadow loomed over me.

Phyrra's eyes widened as she yelled. "Louis! Look out!"

I swung up with the cylindrical part facing up, and slashed the Ursa clean in half, a red glow eminating from the seam. Then the cylinder died down it power as sparkes flew around it, a low hum indicating it was out of power.

"That Ruby, is what it does." I replied.

"Awesome!" Ruby yelled, and then a scream pierced the air.

Now it was Cardin's turn, putting his hands up to his face while the Rapier Wasps attacked him.

How the hell are we supposed to fight that?

An Ursa I can take but that...

Not to mention Bloody Berry is out of juice too.

Hmm...

"Weiss, think you can use some fire dust to get rid of them?"

"Get rid of what?" She asked, puzzled.

"There are currently Rapier Wasps attacking Cardin. His aura should be able to take the blow."

"Wait... Wasps?" She asked, squinting her eyes. "But I don't see any."

"Just... trust me on this one." I confirmed.

"O... okay..." She said, going into a stance once more. "If he gets hurt, its on you."

"Bite me." I rolled my eyes.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll take the fall for you."

She traced her fingers all the way down to Myrtenaster's blade, and then with one powerful swing, a fire ball flew from the edge of her tip, and into an invisible force, explosing with a devastating impact that blew Cardin past several trees.

She gasped. "Holy... you're right. If there was nothing there it would've passed through."

"How did you..." Ruby asked, raising her brow. "You really are a telepath, aren't you?"

"Nope." I said, walking off, pressing the button again to bring Bloody Berry to a compactable size. "Again, just very good at guessing."

"Wait... What about Cardin?" Ruby asked.

I stood still for a moment, and shrugged. "What about him?"

_Later..._

"Yeah... things didn't really go as planned." I admitted to Evans.

"Whatcha mean?"

"Blake sure, Jaune? Not so much."

I then proceeded to explain to him what had happened.

"Oh crap..." He muttered.

"Oh crap indeed." I agreed. "Should we do something to make Jaune more heroic? Or should we just focus on getting him together with Phyrra?"

"I guess I screwed up on that one huh?"

"Well, you can't always expect things to go your way." I sighed.

"Let's see..." He said, putting a hand up to his chin. "I guess getting him together with Phyrra is priority. We only have 1 more story arc to go in this season."

"Hmm..." I said, appearing deep in thought. "I guess, but we shouldn't force it. Remember, we only knew she liked him when he asked Weiss out to the dance. That doesn't occur till much later."

"Right."

"Damn. And I was about to push her so that she can Forever Fall for Jaune as well right after that heroic moment."

...

"Too much Yang?"

"Too much Yang." Damnit.

...

"Anyways..." He said. "When did you had the time to make Travis Touchdown's Bloody Berry?"

"Oh this?" I asked, holding it out. "Ruby taught me how to make weapons."

"How is that even legal?"

"I don't know man. 15 year olds can make weapons in this world, did you really think moral sense actually exists here?" I snorted.

"How does it even work?"

"Precisely like in the game."

...

"Wait... you mean..."

"Yeap." I replied, knowing very well what's next.

"To charge it up... you have to..."

"Jack it off, yeap."

...

"Alright. Not even gonna question why didn't you change that aspect."

"Having a high intensity beam katana isn't convinient when you have to replace the batteries you know."

"Well..."

"It runs out of power relatively quick. Probably after 2 to 3 good slashes or so." I admitted. "But on the bright side, it can slash through almost anything."

"Right."

...

"We should head back."

"Yeah." I waved. "See ya in the Vytal Festival?"

He looked to the sky for a moment, gazing at the broken moon.

"No."

"No?" I asked and raised my brow.

"Probably it's time for that redemption arc."

"Away from your team? You sure that's wise?"

"I don't see why not."

"Blake could beat you up for taking her bow."

...

"And Yang."

...

"And basically all of team RWBY."

"Yeah..." He said. "That's why you're gonna be by my side."

"Your words, not mine." I finished, heading inside.

_Back Inside._

I knocked at the front door to make sure they weren't changing or anything of the sort.

"Hey, Ruby? Yang? Anybody? Is it safe to come in?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah! Just give us a minute!" Ruby's muffled voice called out.

Evans looked at me, as to which I returned with a shrug. "I don't know man, women."

"Alright!" The door slammed open, and I breathed out the air from my lungs slowly.

"You ready to do this?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said with Blake's bow in one hand, gripping it tightly. "Though if I were to say I'm not nervous, I would be lying."

"That makes the two of us brother."

With a step forward, I took a peek inside to see...

that Ruby was wearing red furry cat ear accesories, while Weiss was in a full body fluffy cat costume.

Weiss looks like she was forced into it, while Yang just looked at the both of them with her arms tucked under her chest, looking amused.

"Uhh... what?"

I don't remember this from the show.

"Yeah, this is for Blake! To make her feel welcome and all."

Or offended.

"Or offended." Yang crossed her arms.

"Ugh, she won't feel offended! What are you talking about?"

I rubbed the back of my head, thinking on how to react to this situation.

"Wait... so Blake's not here?" I asked.

"Nope, she said she had a book fair or something to go to. Hurry Louis! Put this on!" Ruby shouted, handing me an azure copy of a furry cat costume.

How'd she guess my favourite colour?

"Uhm... no thanks." I said, tossing it over to my bed.

"Oh come on!" Ruby smiled. "It'll be fun!"

"Yeah... pass." I said, glancing over to Evans who had a hand clamped over his mouth. "Listen uhh, someone needs to talk to Blake so, contact me via scroll when she gets back, okay?"

"Sure!" Ruby cheered gleefully, pushing a yellow version of the costume to Yang's arms. "Yang... pweeaseee!"

"No!" Yang refused, trying hard not to look into her sister's cute pouting face.

Thank god she didn't used that on me, I would've happily obliged.

"Alright" I waved off, closing the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yang said, putting a foot to stop the door, cat costume in one hand.

"Anywhere but here." I said, as a hand gripped my shoulder.

"If I'm gonna be in this... then so are you!" Yang said, clenching my shoulder harder, a psychotic smile visible at the small gap on the doorway.

Only one thought crossed my mind at that moment.

Run.

RUN!

"See ya!" I yelled over my shoulder, zipping off my jacket so that it left hanging in Yang's arms, and sprinted off with Evans.

"Wait!" She yelled, bursting out the door to see my shadow dissapearing around the corner.

"Yangg..." Ruby's voice called out from within, arms wrapping around her naval. For some reason her silver eyes glowed sinisterly in the dark.

"Join.. us..." Weiss moaned, wrapping her arms around Yang's neck, slowly pulling her in. Weiss's eyes were glowing as well, the only visible parts being her arms, while everything else was shrouded in darkness.

"No... no!

NOOOOOOO!" She yelled out, as she faded into darkness, and the door slammed shut.

_A few minutes later._

Huff.. huff...

"What was that?" I asked through my ragged breathing.

"That... huff.." Evans replied. " was from the official manga. _From Shadows_."

"But it wasn't in the show!" I complained.

"I guess messing with the plot broke that wall." Evans shrugged.

Ah fuck, now I have to deal with psychopathic cat costumed ladies.

And Yang.

"Jesus man, things can get scary from here, I don't know what to expect anymore." I panted, dusting off my pants.

"You didn't read the manga?"

"No, I only caught up with Volume 6!"

"Scary indeed." He scoffed sarcastically. "Though I would like to see you in that for once. I hope Scrolls have transfer cables."

...

Fucking Furry.

"You're a furry?"

"No, I just thought you'll look hillarious in it."

"Asshat."

...

"Let's just find Blake and get this over with, shall we?" I offered, walking off with a cold sweat.

_About an hour later_

"I can't believe it!" Blake said, holding the book close to her chest, hugging it frantically. "I can't believe I got him to sign his book! I can finally sleep well!"

"Can you?" Louis asked, coming out from the shadows after leaning on a pillar with his arms crossed.

"Louis." She scoffed, looking away. "What do you want?"

"Me? Nothing."

"Then...?"

"Someone wants to apologize to you." Louis said, holding a hand out as a sillouethe shuffled in darkness. "Promise me you won't kill him?"

"And why should I trust you?" She asked, one arm reaching to the back, gripping Gambol Shroud.

"Cuz I didn't poison your fish and chips?"

...

"And I was willing to hear you out on the entire White Fang story?"

...

"And I didn't take you to a love hotel?"

...

"Or drug you."

...

She re-sheated Gambol Shroud, and breathed out slowly.

"Okay." She replied. "Who is it?"

Evans walked out from shadows (Oh the irony), and waved. "Hi Blake."

"Grrrr..." Blake grit her teeth.

Evans then took a step towards Louis, who sighed.

"Just give him a chance to make it up to you. I promise you he has no ill intentions."

"Why? You I can trust. But him?! He exposed me! I've never felt so vulnerable before in my life!" She said, rubbing her shoulders.

"Because I trust him." Louis said easily.

"What?!" She shrieked.

"I trust him." he repeated calmly.

"He's part of team CRDL!"

"Not anymore." Louis said. "He quit to make it up to you."

"He... what?" She took a step back.

"Yeah." Evans said, coming out. "I'm kicked out of Beacon now. I told Ozpin what I did, and resigned."

Blake looked at me confused. "Is that even possible? Quitting mid way?"

_Louis's POV_

"Yeah, it's true." I confirmed, walking up to her and giving her the documents that had a red "**REJECTED**." stamp across from it.

"Wait... but I don't want any of this!" She shook her head. "I don't wanna make your life miserable just to make it up to me."

"Yeah well, it's a bit too late for that." I admitted.

"But..."

"No buts." Evans said. "What's done is done."

He then walked beside me and extended his hand, holding her bow.

"I regret my actions that day Blake. I'm sorry."

...

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why..." She asked again, tears rolling down the side of her cheeks. "Why are you two so nice to me?"

"I told you I'm not gonna abandon a friend." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "And that wasn't a one time thing."

"And I have to have some sort of reprecussion for my actions." Evans said firmly. "Every actions always have consequences."

"B-but..." She muttered. "I just ruined your life!"

"I'll be fine." Evans smiled, putting her bow in her hand, wrapping her fingers around it, and walking away. "Take care now."

"W-will he really?" She asked, her tears hitting the ground.

"He's a tough guy." I said. "If he's man enough to make it up to you, then he should be man enough to take care of himself."

"B...but." She sobbed, looking outside to see Evan's holding out 2 fingers as a sign of a final goodbye.

"You heard what he said, no buts." I said, looking at her chest.

"Uhh... Blake."

"Hm?" She sobbed, wiping her tears and looked at my eyes to see what it was staring at.

...

"You... probably just ruined that signature in that book."

She looked down, confused, then saw her tears soaking into the top pages of her beloved book.

"SHIT!"

_Litterally five minutes before Blake came back._

"How emotional do you wanna make this scene?" I asked.

"Probably people will still think I'm a dick, but both Blake and the audience will feel bad sorta..." He said, giving me a stack of papers. "Something like Darth Vader dying."

"And how are we supposed to achieve that?"

"With these!" He handed me the papers.

"And.. this is?"

"My documents."

...

"Where did you get these?"

"Ozpin's computer duh!"

"You... hacked his computer?"

"Shhh not so loud! Yeah, I hacked it, man that dude has a lot of pictures of himself topless."

"What?!"

"You wouldn't believe the pictures he keeps of himself."

I looked at him to see him trembling while hugging his knees.

"I have seen things." He said.

...

"Chibi?"

"Chibi."

...

"And how did you get this **'REJECTED' **stamp on it?"

"There's a program equivalent to Photoshop on there. I'm sure Ozpin uses it to get the hair out of his legs."

...

"Genius."

"I know, right! Let's just hope Blake doesn't notice."

_Present_

"Y-Yeah... I really think he could take it." I said, gripping my fingers on her shoulders and looking away in the other direction while a grin spread across my face.

I chortled a couple of times for the past few minutes as we walked, but played it off and told Blake my windpipe was clogged and I felt a flu coming.

"If he's certain." Blake sighed. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."

Damn Evans, you really are one sneaky bastard.

We reached outside our dorms, and just as Blake held out the scroll and a 'click' could be heard, something crossed my mind as I remembered why I left on a hurry.

"Uhh Blake... don't go in there."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Just... don't."

She raised a brow as she pushed the door, which slowly creaked open.

"Nyaaaa~" Ruby popped up.

"Nyaaaaa~" Yang raised her paw.

"N..N-NYaaa~?" An embarassed Weiss purred as she held out both hands.

...

...

Blake dropped her book with a loud thud as I stared at their complete cosplays.

"Warned you."


	6. Chapter 6

"...No way someone's that accurate." Yang said.

"Yeah..." Ruby agreed. "Maybe it's his sembelance?"

"Impossible." Weiss muttered. "he doesn't have an aura."

"Weiss is right." Blake murmured. "No aura means no Sembelance."

"Then how is he so accurate at guessing what happened? Not that I mind, since every single 'correct' guess has always been in our favour." Yang sighed. "But it's dead accurate whenever he says 'Its a good guess.'"

"We'll just have to ask him when he wakes up then." Weiss scowled, crossing her arms and looking towards Louis's bed, where he was still asleep.

"What if he just avoids us? Like he always does?" Ruby asked.

"I may have a plan for that." Blake smirked, and whispered in Weiss's ears.

"I..." Weiss smirked. "think I can manage that."

Ruby and Yang looked to her confused as she held out Myrtenaster.

_Shifts to Louis's POV_

Cold...

Why is it cold? Did Ruby turn the AC's temperature down again?

Maybe... but

This temperature... it isn't normal

"Ugggh..."

"Shit! He's awake! Get ready!"

Huh? Yang?

What does she mean 'Get ready?'

My eyelids fluttered open to Ruby and Weiss on my right, and Blake and Yang standing on my left.

"Good... morning Louis!" Ruby said gleefully, though there was a tinge of hesitation in her tone.

Wait... morning?

I squinted my eyes to see the morning sunlight pouring in from the windows, illuminating the room.

My vision then focused on the AC above the doorway, and my heart stopped.

The AC...

was off.

"Uhh.. what?!" I asked, and then tried to move my arm.

I was unable to move... I... was stuck on something.

I gazed down in horror to see... that my entire body...

was encased in a block of ice.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I shouted aloud, giving a death stare at Weiss.

"WHAT IS THIS FOR?"

"To ensure you can't run away." Weiss shrugged as she held out Myrtenaster. "Also, so that you can't please yourself with your carnal desires, just like what you did with Blake."

"I did no such thing!" I yelled, looking to Blake for support. She just looked away and smirked.

Bitch!

"I told you I was gonna get you back for this." She snickered.

"T-t-this is too much! Weiss un-f-f-freeze me this instant!" I chattered.

The cold had already started tingling my skin, burning the surface of it as it gnawed deeper.

"No, you'll just run away. We have questions for you."

"I can't answer your questions if I'm d-d-dead you MORON!"

"Pfffft." Ruby waved off. "You won't die... haha... right?"

"I WILL IF I DON'T GET UNFROZEN FOR THE NEXT 30 SECONDS!" does Hypothermia not exist in this world? I'm sure the RWBY crew got cold at Volume 6!

"You promise you won't run away and avoid us?"

"YES!"

"Yes what?" Yang grinned.

"I won't run away! P-please just! AAAAAARRRRGGH!" My balls were starting to freeze. And I thought something grazing it was bad enough. This was... excruciating.

It feels like I'm being circumsized all over again.

Weiss covered her ears, then held out Myrtenaster, melting the ice coffin that was surrounding me, disspating with a hiss as it dissapeared into thin air.

"Why the hell did you have to do that?!" I chattered, rubbing my palms together for heat.

"So that you won't run away." Weiss scoffed.

"You could've just used Blake's ribbon and tied me up!"

"That... why didn't we think of that?" Yang knocked her head playfully, sticking out her tounge.

"Ugh..." I groaned, sitting up and still chattering. My body was soaked in literal cold sweat, parts of the ice that had melted and drenched my jacket and my jeans. My skin was pale from head to toe from the lack of oxygen I was getting and my mind was spinning.

After about 10 minutes, my body temperature finally warmed up to room temperature, and I was able to stop chattering and talk normally.

"So..." I glared at Weiss. "What is it you want to ask?"

"Well." Ruby said with a smile. "You haven't really been talking to us much about yourself really, while the rest of us are bonding as a team."

"And?" I asked, raising my brow.

"And you've been running off every time we wanted to ask you about things, or just shrug it off with a vague excuse." Weiss hissed.

"So...?" I asked again, raising my brow even higher.

"So..." Yang said, crossing her arms. "We would like to take this chance to know you better."

Ah shit.

Acting skills, activate!

"Okay, Name's Louis." I smiled sarcastically, extending a hand to all four of them.

"We already know that." Blake scoffed, crossing her arms.

"We want to know more about... your... skills." Weiss said, a short pause before she said skills.

"I thought you said I didn't have any."

"I... changed my mind." She answered hesitantly. "After noticing your ability to... forsee something we can't."

Was I that readable?

"Like I said, it was just lucky guesses."

"Yeah right." Yang scoffed. "How you 'luckily' found Blake while we can't."

That was luck

"How you 'luckily' guessed Ruby had a leader talk with Jaune."

I wasn't sure about that one, since we went searching for Blake the whole day, thought the plot would change. I asked Ruby just to make sure.

"How you 'luckily' guessed there were Rapier Wasps surrounding Cardin."

That was just logic. What else could it have been?

"Yeap. Just... lucky guesses." I shrugged.

"Stop. You can't hide it from us forever." Blake said. "How'd you know?"

I drew a long sigh. These girls aren't gonna let me go without an explaination.

Shit.

But, a promise is a promise.

I don't wanna wake up the next day with my body in an ice coffin again.

And Ozpin isn't gonna allow me to switch teams.

Time to wing it.

"My... mother was a fortune teller." I started. "She taught me how to read fortunes."

They all exchanged looks of confusion with each other.

"She also told me about the supernatural." I said, looking to Ruby to see that her face had gone pale.

Gotcha...

"With this, she... told me how to sense presence, just like the dead spirits of Rapier Wasps that was attacking Jaune and Cardin."

"Eeep!" Ruby said, bursting into rose petals and zipping under her blanket.

Everbody stared as the bed shook with fear.

"They wanted vengance for... trapping them in that box in the first place. Only then can their souls rest."

"But dust affects them?" Weiss suspiciously asked, raising a brow high.

"Yes... Dust is a supernatural element as well. It's commonly used in rituals."

"O...kay." Yang said. "Vacuo was known for their supernatural beliefs, escpecially in those parts."

It was?

Legit lucky guess.

"So... does that answer your questions?" I asked.

"Blasphemy." Weiss scoffed. "There's no way supernatural beings is real."

"Hey, seeing is believing." I shrugged.

"Well, do you believe in the undead? The unknown?" Blake asked.

Me? No, not really. But for the lore...

"Well, not at first. But then when she summoned my great grandfather, I started to."

"So, you can talk to the dead?" Yang asked, her tone shifting to a what more melancholic one.

"To some extent."

"Okay, then can... you let us talk to someone? Maybe just relay the message?"

Uh...

Don't lie on this one.

Don't start something you can't handle.

Just say you can't and

Don't-

"Sure." I said confidently.

FUCK!

"Who is it?"

"Ruby's late mother..." She replied depressingly, "Summer Rose."

"Wait... we can talk to mom?" Ruby shivered, poking her head out of her blankets.

"It's worth a shot." Yang said, her sad gazed locked into my eyes.

Oh fuck

Checkmate.

"Uhh... sure, but I... uh... Forgot the materials of sacrifice that you need to uh... do it."

"You... forgot?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Not my blood Not my blood!" Ruby yelled , hiding under her covers again.

"If it's to talk to mom, it's worth it Ruby." Yang said louder with a sad tone.

Is that a tear in her eye?

"My... mother was usually the one who gathers such material. I usually just witness it."

"So... you have supernatural abilities." Blake stated, raising a brow.

I nodded.

"And you can do a lot of supernatural stuff like foresight." Weiss added.

I nodded again.

"And you forgot how to do supernatural stuff, but you can sense it." Yang finished.

"Yup, pretty much sums it up."

The 3 girls looked at each other, and then shrugged it off.

"Bummer." Yang said, looking down on the floor. "I thought we could at least see her 1 more time, tell her about our experience at Beacon and what had been happening recently."

Oh

my

God...

I'm a dick.

Lying about your homework to your mom? That's one thing

Lying about cheating to your girlfriend? That's another.

Giving false hope to mourning daughters who lost their mother at a young age?

AAAAARRGGHHHH!

"I'm sorry Yang." I apologized.

I can hear Evans from across the globe yelling at the top of his lungs 'NO YOU'RE NOT!'

"It's okay. I guess I was just expecting too much." Yang shrugged off, then walked out of the room, with Ruby hopping down, joining her sister afterwards.

I stood up, heading for the door, but Blake put her hand out to stop me.

"Let them be." She said. "They just need some time alone."

"R...right..." I said. "I'm gonna go... grab some fresh air too."

"It's not your fault." Weiss muttered, looking sadly into my eyes.

It completely is my fault.

"Right uh... see ya girls... later.." I muttered, walking out and shutting the door behind me.

Gotta make it up to Yang and Ruby someday...

Shit

I'm the world of Remanent's biggest idiot.

**A/N**

**Can't do a comedy without collateral slip ups like these. Sad moments always exist, comedy or not.**


	7. Chapter 7

"They left all the money again." One of the police officers said to the other in front of broken windows of a robbed dust shop.

"Yeah, just doesn't make any sense. Who needs that much dust?" The other replied.

"You thinking the White Fang?"

Blake's ears fell at the comment, while Weiss and Yang each put their hands around her shoulders.

"Blake... it's okay. You're not part of it anymore." Weiss said, staring sadly into her eyes.

"I know, but I just can't help but feel responsible."

"Hey, don't be like that." Ruby said. "Police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him."

"Hey stop that faunus!" A voice called out from below the docks.

"Thanks for the ride guys!" Sun smirked and ran off, rapidly approaching team RWBY... only to get tripped by Louis's foot because he was too busy winking at Blake.

"Owww! What's the big idea?" He asked, getting up.

_Louis's POV_

"You should pay attention to where you're going." I replied, and, with a sleight of hand, grabbed something as he got up.

"Yeah well, that's hard to do when you find your own race in the streets. Faunus in these parts are rare y'know."

"Hey! Wait up!" one of the police officers sprinted through the crowd, only to get stopped by a banana peel that I 'accidentally' threw a few minutes ago, while the other tripped over the first's body.

"You can thank me later." I smirked. "Down the alley, first corner, then take a right turn, after the florist, take a left. Orange building, jump upwards. You can lose em there."

"Uhh... first you're stopping me, then now you're helping me?"

"Consider it my way of saying 'hello'."

"Weird way to introduce yourself, but... gotta scram!" He waved off, and hauled his ass out of there.

"What.. was that?" Weiss asked.

"Just your Vytal Tournament competition running away." I replied.

"Wait," Weiss was so distracted by the cops falling down, she didn't notice the monkey faunus's age.

"After him!" She shouted, as Yang and Blake trailed behind her while Ruby burst into rose petals... only to crash into Penny, falling on top of her. I stopped right behind the corner, immediately deep in thought.

Wait a minute... Wasn't Weiss the one who crashed into Penny?

Hmm... Maybe it's from the current ongoing manga...

"Ughh..." Ruby groaned, holding her head. "What..."

"Salutations!" The orange haired girl greeted, making Ruby jerk up and got off her.

"Will you be my friend?" She asked.

She also didn't ask this in the web series...

"Uh... hello." Weiss said, ignoring her question.

"Are you... okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." the orange haired girl replied.

"Do you wanna perhaps.. get up?" Yang asked, getting a gleeful "Yes!" In return.

As soon as Penny got up, Louis walked up to team RWBY from behind the corner.

"Louis? Why didn't you help us chase down that monkey faunus?" Weiss asked.

"He has a name." I replied. "It's Sun."

"Wait... how'd you know that?" Yang asked.

I grinned as I took out a wallet from my pocket, and waved an identity card at them.

"You... stole his wallet?" Ruby asked.

"I would say borrow. Not gonna spend the lien in here, or the cards for that matter." I shrugged, tossing the wallet for Blake to catch.

"Why... are you giving it to me?" Blake asked.

"Figured you can have a little Faunus... heart to heart." I smirked, and walked off.

"Where do I even start find him? He just jumped away."

"You won't. He'll come to you when he realizes its missing."

"But why me?"

...

"Because he winked at you."

"Right..." Yang deadpanned.

The rest of team RWBY then introduced themselves to Penny, who introduced herself back, with the exception of Louis, but... Yang introduced me anyways. Before they left however, I made sure that Ruby jolted down Penny's contact number by scroll.

"Alright! Bye bye friend!" Ruby waved off.

"Why would you need a competitor's number?' Weiss asked, raising her brow.

"Backup." I smiled, and ran into Penny again.

Oh right

"Did you just call me... friend?" She asked, inches away from Ruby, making Ruby lean back.

_Later at night_

"You... sure he'll be here?" Blake asked, stepping around at Beacon's courtyard.

"Positive." I said, feeling a pair of eyes honed on me as the trees started to rustle. "Remember what I told you to do?"

"Yeah, tell him about my past in the White Fang, just like how I told it to you, and he'll tell me where to find them."

You'll probably give him more information though... just cause he's a faunus.

"Good." I said, hearing footsteps approaching behind me.

"Sun Wukong." I said, not even glancing backwards.

"I believe you have something... that's mine." he grumbled, extending a hand. "Never caught your name."

"Here you go" Blake replied, tossing his wallet back. "In fact, you never caught any of our names."

"Wait... all of it is here... my cards, my lien... wait... how'd my lien doubled? What do you want?"

"Nothing. Why don't you and Blakey here have a little.. faunus to faunus talk?" I asked, getting a death stare from Blake when I called her Blakey. "That much should be enough for a couple of days. Maybe go to an inexpensive cafe? Though Blakey here prefers tea."

"Uh? Okay?" Sun questioned, snapping glances between me and Blake as he approached us, confused, getting a shrug from Blake in return as she took a step towards him.

"Oh and Sun?" I said, giving Blake a gentle push, making her fall into his muscular arms.

"Be gentle." I said, waving off and then I walked back to the dorms.

I didn't need to see it, but Blake is blushing furiously right now, both out of embarassment, and maybe, a bit of rage.

Romance plot #1 Success

_A few minutes later..._

"How'd it go?" Yang asked, looking up from her scroll.

"Great. She'll just extract the information we need. It'll take a couple of days at most, but she can take care of herself I'm sure."

"I hope all that lien you asked from Weiss would be worth it."

"It will. I promise."

"Won't you feel jealous?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Why would I?"

"She's with a boy faunus, and will go incognito for two days at least."

"And...?"

"Didn't you ravage her?"

Okay that wasn't subtle at all.

I looked around to see that Ruby was in fact... showering. Weiss was nowhere to be found. No wonder.

"Yang..." I sighed, facepalming "It's not like that. I explained it to you."

"Suuuure." She said teasingly. "Coffee in her hair. Found her by the dumpsters. Riiiight..."

She's never gonna let this go is she?

"Think however you want it. I regret rubbing it in her face now."

"Rubbing what in her face?" Yang smirked.

...

"Oh for the love of..."

"I'm done!" Ruby shouted, towel around her short hair as she smiled and waved to me. "Oh, hi Louis! How'd it go?"

"Well."

"How well?"

"Well enough we could stop a heist before it even happens."

"Ooh, done that before." Ruby said.

"Actually sis, you stopped Torchwick as it was happening, not before." Yang pointed out.

"Yang! Louis doesn't know that! Why can't you just let me be cool for once?"

"And now I do." I replied, shaking my head. " and you already are. Both to me and Yang."

"Awwww stop it you." She waved off nervously as she blushed, covering her face with her hood and giggling.

That was... unexpected.

"A little girl wielding a giant schyte? What can be cooler then that?" I shrugged, causing Ruby to continue getting flustered.

Yang then smiled at first, but threw a dirty look at me when Ruby was looking away. I immidiately got her silent message through her eyes.

'If you ever... think of laying a hand of Ruby.'

I rolled my eyes as I gave her my own silent message.

'Please, wouldn't even think of it. No 'accidents' had happened so far, and I won't be the one to start it.'

'Good, as long as we're clear as day.'

'Crystal.'

"Oh by the way!" Ruby yelled, getting both pairs of eyes to look at her as both of us to perk up and smile instantly.

"Let's have dinner!"

_2 Days later..._

"So, anything happened yet?" Sun asked Blake.

"No, not yet." She smiled, standing up from her prone position and giving him a hug, making him drop his apples. "Glad you made it on time."

"Yeah, sorry for not accompanying you on your way here, had to buy these apples not steal them to get any cops off my back."

"Good to know you're learning your lesson."

"Well, that Louis guy gave me a little excess."

_Louis's POV_

"Is this it?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, this should be the place." I said, arriving at the shipment yard. "Be careful though, don't want you getting shot."

"Psh! Please!" She waved off. "I have a giant schyte to protect me. There's no way I could get shot! Not with my aura protecting me."

"Yeah. Sure." I said, rolling my eyes. "Did Penny respond?"

"Yeah, she'll be here soon." Ruby responded.

"Yang, Weiss, are you two in position?" I asked by scroll.

"Yeah, sneaking behind all this cargo. How long did you say the White Fang will take to appear?"

"Right about..."

Low roars of Bullheads could be heard as they landed at the shipping yard.

"Now."

_Shifts to Sun and Blake_

"Really didn't think they were behind it... Did you?" Sun asked, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder as they both saw White Fang members crawling out of the grounded bullheads.

"No... I think deep down I knew. I just... Didn't wanna be right." Blake responded, putting her hand around Sun's.

That affection didn't last long as 2 figures appeared and broke their little bonding moment. "Hey! What's the holdup?" One of them with a cane and orange hair shouted.

_Louis's POV_

Wait... What?

2? But in the Web series, there was only Torchwick.

Not good.

"Grrrr... Torchwick..." Ruby growled, extending Cresent Rose and honing her sights at him.

"Wait, Ruby let me see."

"Huh?"

"Let me see through your scope."

"You know how to operate Cresent Rose?"

"No, but I need to see who the other one is that's with him."

"Ugh... Okay." She said, hesitatingly giving me control of Cresent Rose.

Jesus, this was... Heavy.

I'm only holding on to the handle to aim, and even the pole itself was heavy.

I couldn't even imagine how heavy the blade was.

How the hell does such a petite girl like Ruby carry something like this on her back?!

...

Whatever. I'm just gonna have to deal with it.

I looked down the scope to see... Someone in a very dark purple cloak with a hood, covering from head to toe, with an excecutioner's mask over his face. His figure was quite stubby, and he had a dark skin complexity. Inside, he wore a black T shirt with... Shorts? Knee length short black jeans to be specific.

"Louis, what do we do?" Yang asked over the intercom, causing me to drop Cresent Rose all sweaty.

"It doesn't look like he's with anybody else." I replied. "Wait for Blake's signal."

"Which is...?" Weiss asked.

I peered down to see a shadow that was rapidly approaching Torchwick, catching him point blank by surprise. "What the? Oh for fu-"

The sudden movement caused the purple hooded figure to retreat into the shadows.

"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" Blake asked.

...

...

I slowly put both my hands over my mouth to prevent myself from bursting out laughing, but Ruby seemed to have noticed.

"Louis... Are.. you okay?' Ruby asked, confused.

"Y-Yeah..." I replied, holding both hands to either side of my face to prevent Ruby from seeing a wide grin that was forming.

Arryn Zach's voice and performance was phenomenal in this scene.

She nailed this scene.

This was supposed to be a serious moment.

A strong moment for Blake to stand up to her ideals.

Arryn did a good job at delivering this perfectly through her voice.

So why.

Why did I hear Ugandan Knuckles voice rather then Blake's? In his accent no less.

...

"That. That is the signal Weiss." I said after regaining composure after a minute of holding in my laughter. "L-lets go Ruby."

"Alright move out!" She commanded, as we sprung into action.

_Later_

"I can't believe it!" Ruby yelled, hugging her teamates. "We finally caught Roman Torchwick!"

We stood together in a circle, with Roman Torchwick and other members of the White Fang rounded up with a thick rope.

I can't believe it either. He wasn't supposed to be caught.

Not in this season.

But maybe bringing Yang and Weiss changed that.

"I just called the police." Blake said, hanging up her phone. "They're on their way as we speak."

Wait...

Someone's missing in the bunch of rounded up criminals.

"Where'd purple cloak guy go?" I asked.

"He slipped in one of the bullheads." Blake said. "He managed to get away."

"Weird guy." Yang added. "He didn't fight. He just ran. Sort of reminds me of you on initiation."

"Huh..." I wandered.

...

A low hum could be heard a good distance away.

Wind started to brew on our faces, causing us to look up. Roaring of engines filled our ears as said bullhead returned.

"Or... he decided to.. give up?" Sun asked as the bullhead opened one of its doors in the midway descent.

"No..." I said, looking up to see a figure shrouded in shadows wearing a red dress. "SPLIT AND HIDE!"

A fireball suddenly shot down towards the group, causing them to panic. Thanks to my warning however, everybody managed to find cover on time, and seemingly nobody was harmed.

Cinder?! How?

She wasn't supposed to appear now!

"Fireballs? What kind of weapon spits out fireballs?" Yang asked from behind a crate.

"Or constant pillars of fire?" Weiss asked, conjuring up an ice wall. "It seems to be coming out of nowhere!"

"Her arsenal is huge!" Blake said, trying to find space to fire Gambol Shroud, only to be barraged by other White Fang members who were in the bullhead.

"How do we fight that?!" Ruby yelled over the commotion.

We don't...

More fire begin to rain down, singing some of my hair.

Even with half the maiden's powers, Cinder is too OP for these guys to handle alone.

Heck, the only time I saw Cinder actually suffer was in the hands Ruby's Silver Eyes in Volume 3. Or in the hands of another maiden, like Raven at Volume 5

The last thing I wanna do is reveal that Penny is a robot by killing her right here.

"Stand down! We don't do anything!" I yelled.

"B-but!" Blake protested. "After all we've done!"

"Stand down!" I insisted.

I looked over the edge of the crate I was hiding behind to see the purple hooded figure returning and cutting the ropes on Roman Torchwick, who waltzed into the bullhead, while his company was still surrounded by shadows somehow.

"Just stay behind cover! Let them have him!"

"See you next time Red!" Roman Torchwick mocked as he too fired shots from his cane, causing some crates to explode.

After the barrage died down as the Bullhead became miniature to my line of sight, Ruby stomped on the floor.

"Is everybody okay?" I asked, coming out of cover.

"Yeah..." Blake said, gritting her teeth, while Sun walked up beside her.

"Blake... I'm sorry. But that is an opponent we cannot afford to lose to right now."

"I know." She spat in fustration, causing even Sun to take a step back.

"What was that? How did pillars of fire just emerge out of the ground like that?" Sun asked.

"Perhaps it was planted dust mines that triggers when you step on it?" Yang suggested.

"That woman!" Ruby yelled. "She was there too the night Torchwick decided to rob the dust shop!"

"How'd you survive?" Weiss asked. "Even we can't survive if she decided to get off that bullhead."

"Glynda... Glynda Goodwitch helped me out." Ruby admitted. "She saved me."

"The combat class teacher?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"So we require a Pro Hunstman to deal with her then." Blake said. "Or someone with her area of expertise."

"No..." I answered, everybody snapping their gazes to me. "We need Ozpin."

That purple hooded guy... Just... who was he?


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**Can't expect everybody to be on the good side can you?**

"I can't believe you just ditched me like that!" Torchwick yelled. "You could've gotten me arrested. Or worse! Killed!"

The purple hooded man only grunted in response as he crossed his arms, resting on crates of stolen dust.

"Relax Roman." Cinder said seductively, going beside him and touching his face. "Without him you wouldn't be here right now."

"Now do you believe me?" The purple hooded man asked.

"Alright. I guess I did get caught off guard by that Belladona girl because I didn't believe you in the first place." Torchwick apologized, though he didn't seem happy to. " I guess I should cut you some slack. You don't have an aura after all."

"Lol. That's more like it." The purple hooded man huffed, and walked towards him.

"Don't get cocky now." Torchwick growled. "Seriously though, you don't have any aura, no weapon, no combat experience. Why did I even let you join us?"

"Because I was spot on." He snickered through his mask. Before Torchwick could complain any further Cinder walked beside him, causing Torchwick to stop at just gritting his teeth.

"Can't deny that." Cinder said, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Good work... Psycho Smile."

"Thank you boss." The man called Psycho Smile well... smiled, and bowed. "It's good to know you trust me on where to hit for the dust robberies and what to tell that Adam Taurus to make him yield."

"And I thought I was going to have to use force." Cinder agreed. " I was ready to burn down that entire pathetic faunus camp. All he wants to do is see his little girlfriend again."

"Now Torchwick," Psycho smile stared into Torchwick's emerald eyes. "would you keep your end of the bargain?"

"Yeah yeah, you want to capture little Red for 'personal' reasons', then after you 'use' her, I can kill her."

"Precisely."

"We're as clear as day."

"I don't see no 'little red' here."

"You were beside me on that shipment raid!" Torchwick yelled.

"Lol. They were students. First years no less. I have no combat experience, you do."

"With one of them being ex White Fang!"

"Enough!" Cinder shouted, 1 eye flaring up with a golden coloured flame. "Mr Psycho Smile. You'll get what you want eventually. If Torchwick can't deliver, then I will. You just have to sit back and be patient."

"Lol. I hope you can. Keep your word and you will be rewarded with more information." He said, flipping his cape so that he rests over his shouldes, and retreated off into the darkness as he stared at the floor.

...

"What a freak." Torchwick scoffed. "Why is he like that? It's like he's trying too hard to be cool it's cringe worthy."

"He has his uses." Cinder stated. "Can't you erase that aspect with that thing you planted in his head?"

"The Brain scrambler? I tried. It resets most things, memories of friends, families, but somehow it didn't erase his tryhard cool attitude or his obsession to little Red. It's as if he's willing to take those ideals to the grave."

"Ugh... how troublesome." Cinder muttered.

"Tell me about it." Torchwick rolled his green eyes, and then lit up his cigar. "Anyways, back to the foresight thing, I know he warned us that there will be Huntsmen and Huntresses present at the yard. You wouldn't be hiding nearby if he didn't. But didn't he say only 4 of them?"

"That is true."

"So why were there 7 of them instead?!"

"I don't know. But the 4 are among the 7, and they are dead accurate in identity to his guesses."

...

"Remember he said he didn't come alone. There might be more... Auraless Seers like him. Perhaps they were against us in this war."

"So even with his help this is gonna be harder then expected huh?"

...

Torchwick sighed and puffed smoke out of his mouth while he leaned on his cane. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"Find them... And kill them all. Then we can get rid of Mr Psycho Smile after we get what we want."

"Now you're talking."

"Besides..."

"Hm?"

"He gives me goosebumps. Not the good kind."

...

"The 'stay away from me' kind?"

"Yeah..." Cinder shivered, rubbing her shoulders. "Whenever he lays his eyes to me, I can feel him mentally undressing me."

...

_After they recovered, At Ozpin's office_

"So, let me summarize what you had just said." Ozpin stated.

I nodded.

"All of you." He scanned the crowd, which had everybody who was involved in it. "Were at the Shipment yard last night where you run into Roman Torchwick, the mysterious lady with red dress and glass heels which Glynda had fought on the day we found Ruby, and a mysterious hooded figure that appeared out of nowhere."

I nodded, with Glynda nodding afterwards in confirmation.

"And you believe, that this woman... Holds great power. Although you think she isn't at her full potential yet, you asked everybody to hide behind covers and not poke their heads out because you believe you can't deal with her. Even though there are 6 of you."

"7"

"I'm sorry?"

"There were 7 of us in total. Penny Polendina mysteriously disappeared after the fight, and wasn't present when the bullhead returned."

"Right. She wields... Fire you said? And you believe it wasn't a weapon?"

"Pillars of fire erected from the ground. There is no weapon in Remenant that I have seen so far that does that."

"And you believe she is... Coming for the rest of her power, to complete her it, make her whole if you will. And you believe that the first place she will go to make mass attack is here, at Beacon.

"Yup, sums it all up Professor Ozpin."

"And why is that?"

"I have reason to believe, that Beacon is a prestigious school for talented and brave people, such as the group I was with last night." I said, gesturing towards the group behind me. "However, if she can prove such a school could fall, what is to say the other schools in other kingdoms would not?"

Ozpin sipped his coffee, and nodded.

"Well, I thank you for taking the role of leader and keeping the others safe. I'm glad you all came back safe, none of you were seriously injured."

...

"And if any are, I take full responsibility." I said confidently.

Everybody stared at me with their mouths agape and eyes widening in disbelief.

"It was my idea to bring everybody to the docks with the exception of Ms Belladona and Mr Wukong. And their presence there is my fault as well. I told Ms Belladona the required information that led to the recent events."

"Why is he so formal all of the sudden?" Sun whispered to Blake, who shrugged.

"Well, that is certainly kind of you." Ozpin smiled. "I'm sure if you have your own team you will make an excellent leader."

"Thank you professor Ozpin."

"Now, you all acted bravely and I am proud to have you all as students in my school. But like Mr Louis had done here, do not act unless you know what you are dealing against."

"Yes Professor." Everybody said simultaneously after shaking their thoughts off.

"Is that all?" He looked towards the group. "Dismissed."

_Shift_

The doors closed and Ozpin's expression fell as he stared at Glynda Goodwitch.

"The one who took half of Amber's powers?" Glynda asked, raising a brow.

"Possibly..." Ozpin assumed, and rubbed his nose ridge. "What Mr Louis said makes sense. In fact, it's as if he is a double agent relaying the message to us."

"Could that be possible? A change of heart?"

"I dare not ask."

...

"Did you notice it as well?"

"Yes." Ozpin replied. "His posture and tone is somewhat so closely accurate to James, it's as if he had gone to Atlas Academy prior to Beacon."

"It's uncanny how close he is to Ironwood."

"It's as if he knows I would trust him more if I know that tone and body language."

"How is that even possible? He never even met Ironwood."

"Not that we know of."

"And he was willing to take the faults if his friends got killed."

"That as well. That's something only the 4 principals of academies should bear. No student should be saying that, but from his expression, he is willing to fully commit to it."

"Would you have him expelled if any are, in fact, injured badly?"

"Of course not, in fact, he would go unpunished. The maidens are our burdens, and ours alone."

...

"Speaking of James, I heard he is coming here soon."

_Once outside_

"Whew, " I sighed, once the doors closed.

I thought the atmosphere was gonna crush me. Man, playing Ironwood wasn't easy.

...

I looked up to see that everybody was starting at me.

"What?" I asked, looking at the confused group with raised brows, all staring at me.

When all is silent, I asked again,

"What?!"

"You were willing to take the fall for us? In case we were injured?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"Who are you and what have you done with Louis?" Weiss asked.

"What? Can't be responsible for once?"

"It's not that it's just..." Blake faltered.

"You haven't always been the type to stand up to people. Always being cold to us, distant, then all of the sudden, a change in heart?"

Well, first of all, I felt guilty for what I've done.

Lying, especially about the supernatural stuff had gotten to my head.

Especially to Yang and Ruby

And this way, they'll see me as the type to comit to my words,

Responsible, and reliable.

But...

I'm not about to admit that.

I just shrugged.

"Gotta get that recommendation letter somehow right? How am I supposed to get a job after graduation without reference?"

...

"And just like that our little Louis is back." Yang teased, grinning.

"And I mistook you for some sort of, I don't know, gentlemen." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Oh... Okay..." Ruby said, a small tinge of sadness in her tone.

By the look on Blake's face, she isn't buying any of it.

"Anyways, me and Sun want to grab a bite at the cafeteria. It's his first time visiting Beacon, I would like to show him around. Wanna join us?"

Wow these guys hook up quick.

Huh

Who could've guessed?

Maybe sometimes all it takes

Is really, just a little push.

"You guys go ahead." Yang said. "Me and Louis will catch up."

What?

What is this about?

I didn't touch Ruby at all.

Is she gonna kill me?

"Huh? Sis?" Ruby asked. "Uhm... Okay. See ya later!"

Once they were out of view, Yang turned to me.

"So... You two really weren't dating?" She started.

"Huh?"

"You and Blake. You two... weren't a thing?"

"Seeing is believing huh? Glad to know you finally realize that."

"Yeah... I just thought I... I don't know..."

"What?"

"Blake just seemed to trust you and just seemed so happy with you."

"Huh?"

"Well, the fact that she got to tell you about the White Fang before she told us." Yang said, pacing around the corridors.

"And we all knew you less well then then we do now. Hell, out of anybody, you were the last person I thought who will manage to bring her back."

"Yeah well..." I said, scratching the back of my head. "At least now that's cleared up... Right?"

"Yeah."

"She seems happier with Sun anyways."

"Can't deny that." She smirked.

Then she glared at me.

"But if you think that this is gonna give you a chance of dating Ruby..."

"Oh for fucks sake. She's not even legal yet Yang. I wouldn't dream of laying a finger on her."

"Come on." She chuckled once her expression softened. "Let's go join the others."

...

"Actually," I said after taking a few steps, right at the staircase. "you go on ahead. I gotta... Make a call."

"Oooh, secret admirer?" Yang teased.

Of course

One problem solved, another arises

Damn millennials in this world aren't so different from ours.

"No Yang, just a friend."

"Suuuuure." She waved off, and waltzed down the stairs to join the others.

I sighed, and then let out a small smile, shaking my head.

Man... I really hope I could prevent her from getting disArmed. (Damnit Yang)

Without this Yang that burns brighter then the sun, Team RWBY is a mess.

I tapped the contact on my scroll, and then tapped the call button.

Beep...

Beep...

Be-

"Louis? Whats up?"

"We gotta talk Evans."

"Face to face?"

"Not necesarrily, just make sure you're alone."

"Give me a sec..."

...

...

"Alright, I'm good. Whats up."

I then proceeded to tell him how the dock fight went.

"Hmm..." He said, and I could imagine him stroking his short curly goatee. "Someone was with Torchwick... then Cinder showed up huh?"

"Yeah."

"Excecutioner's mask and dark purple hood black clothes and pants... that seems a bit hard to identify... I don't think I've seen a character like that across other medias, but seems like the guy has some edge to him."

"Yeah."

"Did you at least hear what he sounds like?"

"No, he didn't speak. All he did was run away when Torchwick was caught off guard by Blake."

"Hmm... this could be a problem."

"Ya think?" I scoffed. "Cinder almost burnt my bangs off."

"Oh please, they'll regrow."

...

"Anyways." Evans said. "You did a good job in keeping the characters safe there. If Penny were to get killed in that fight..."

"She escaped before Cinder showed up."

"Thank god. But still. If any of those other characters were to die... They are main characters after all. Even Sun has an important role later at 4. I don't think anybody could replace him."

"Yeah. It would've been a disaster."

"Yeah... "

"Anyways, we'll figure this one out together brother, we're in this one together."

"You sure you don't wanna just hire Sun and Neptune?" I asked. "Junior detecting skills could help. Well.. unless they have the mindset of Chibi."

"No, they don't become Junior Detectives till the end of Volume 2 remember?"

"Oh right..."

"And also."

"Hm?"

"Good job on getting Sun and Blake together."

"Heh... thanks."

I ended my call and heaved a heavy sigh as I wandered off into a deep thought.

That purple hooded guy...

I know I've seen him before...

He was hunched, and the way he walks is somewhat familiar...

...

Wait a minute... how does he know Sun and Blake got together? I never told him that.

...

...

Wait a minute.

Did Volume 1 just concluded?

That means...

...

I stared down at the cafeteria to see... that the windows were painted with a rainbow of colours from various foods.

I called Evans again, whom answered on the first ring this time.

"Uh... Yeah?!" Evans shouted with a ton of commotion behind him. Sounds of wooden tables being pulled, screaming and shattering of plates, along with the splattering of various foods.

Oh no...

"Please tell me you're not at the cafeteria."

"I forgot the food fight scene happens now!"

Fuck

"Dude! Get outta there! You could be killed when Ruby does her hurricane thing!"

"I know! Just.. give me a sec! Yang just grabbed her turkeys! Just wait for me outsi- WAAAAAH!"

The call ended abruptly, with my eyes going wide and sprinted down the stairs.

Oh god...

I hope I make it on time...

_Evans POV_

How'd I get into this mess?!

I was just making sure I convinced Blake that I was eating here just because the food here was cheap, and she seemed to have bought it.

I even wore my usual outfit, not the school's uniform to reinforce my point.

She then introduced me to her 'seem to be' boyfriend, Sun Wukong who didn't know who I was, who seemed to know Louis.

Then I put 2 and 2 together, and I confirmed it after the call.

But then...

Then Yang joined her and in a matter of seconds, hell breaks loose.

Damn, I should've figured this was next. Escpecially after Louis told me the Shipment Yard fight was over.

As I was thinking about all this, soda cans started to fly over my head, encasing me in purple soda that fizzed against my skin and Blake, along with Sun flew across the whole cafeteria, knocking several tables along the way.

I looked over to Phyrra, and glanced back at Ruby, who's silver eyes were craving vengance.

Oh god help me. After that sequence its...

Next thing I knew, Ruby was already crouched to a marathon runner's stance, ready to burst into rose petals and end this fight once and for all.

All I could do, was pray

Oh god forgive me for all the mistakes that I have done.

For not being able to say I love you to my parents before I die

For stealing Louis's chicken wings that one time.

For acting out the bad guy.

For staring at Yang's underwear when she got launched by Nora's makeshift hammer.

For taking Blake's bow.

...

Definitely please forgive me for taking Blake's bow.

...

I can't die in peace knowing I yanked Blake's bow.

I then looked up at the hole in the roof, staring at it as my life flashed before my eyes.

"Grandfather..." I muttered. "I'm coming home..."

...

Goodbye... Remenant.

Ruby dashed about a good 12 meters in front of me, carrying a barrage of foods of various kinds trailing behind her that is approaching rapidly, going into a blur. I saw it coming closer...

and closer...

And then... the doors burst open with a deafening slam as someone yelled atop of his lungs.

"STOP!"

_Louis's POV_

"STOP!" I yelled atop of my lungs as I charged in, covered with sweat. "STOP NOW!"

Ruby skidded to a halt, arms wobbling in the air as she stepped on some ice cream, and then fell down with a thundering thud.

"O-oww..."

"Louis... you're late to the party." Nora snickered. "Wanna join in on our food fight?"

"No Nora! I'm not interested. Just-" I was interupted when a puff pasty hit my face.

"No I'm serious!" I looked over to Evans, who was proned with his hands behind his head in the middle of this madness.

"Get out!" I yelled.

"What?" Ren, Nora and Phyrra asked confusingly as Jaune was getting up, thinking the coment was aimed to them. After they saw where my eyes were, they gasped.

Evans had cuts and bruises all over his body, his clothes soaked in soda, orange juice, and blood.

Evans looked towards me, then breathed out a sigh of relief, but was still trembling out of the pain and shock of it.

"L-L-Louis?" He asked.

"Less talk more move. Get out!"

"But... how?" Ruby asked.

"Is that why he didn't join us in the food fight?" Jaune asked afterwards.

"How come his aura didn't protect him?" Phyrra asked.

"He is an Auraless." I explained. "Like me."

"An Auraless?!" Phyrra gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

"I-i-it's okay." Evans smiled. "Y-you guys didn't know, and were too noisy to hear my cries. It's fine."

"No it's not fine!" Ruby said, bursting into rose petals and going beside Evans. "Do you need help?"

"It's okay Ruby." I stated, slinging his arm over my shoulder. "I gotcha buddy, let's go."

"Wait... where's Yang?" I asked.

A loud scream could be heard, and was audibly getting louder, and then a few seconds later a second hole appeared on the roof, with me catching a second of pink.

"I-is she okay?" I asked.

Ruby zipped towards her sister, and gave a thumbs up "She's fine! Get Evans out of here."

"Alright." I said, closing the doors behind me and walked to the med bay.

_Shift_

"Evans... was an Auraless like Louis?" Jaune asked.

"Ozpin did say there were 2 students who went overnight at the Emerald Forest." Ren reminded.

"I can't believe we didn't notice."

...

"So... should we continue?" Nora asked, and immidiately got her answer as a small gust of wind blew past her face as a line of red flew past her, followed by the roars from a hurricane as multiple clangs of kitchen utensils flew, rapidly approaching the 4 who litterally just managed to stand up.

"Oh come on!" Jaune complained.


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright! Just a week of rest and you should be walking in no time!" The nurse claimed as she finished up wrapping Evans's bandages.

Evans was bandages almost entirely from head to toe, the only exposed are being his head and his fingers. His shirt was in tatters from the various materials that were thrown at him, so he'd left that to his teammates to help him get it mended.

Heck, even Cardin went into a temporary truce with me after seeing how badly Evans was hurt.

"You gonna be okay?" Cardin asked, the face he was making as if it was his father on his deathbed.

Huh.. so that's the kind of character he is.

In the show he didn't get that much screentime, but he really does care for his team.

"Yeah... I'll be fine after a bit of rest." Evans claimed, giving a thumbs up, and immediately wincing in pain.

"Alright then... Just... Rest up."

Cardin then glanced at me. "Help me take care of him."

"Of course." I replied.

Once Cardin and the nurse exited the room, I sat down and stared at him. "Jesus, how'd you forget?"

"Cuz... I was too busy trying to find a good excuse for Blake to notice my presence there?" Evans replied, raising a brow.

"Yeah... Alright."

"Hey man..." He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It wasn't your fault either."

"I know I know. I just... Wished I could've warned you before it happened."

"Don't."

"Don't?"

"Don't be sorry. I managed to get a good up skirt view of Yang's underwear."

...

"Did you manage to record it with your scroll?"

...

He then took out his scroll, and showed me a picture of it.

Damn. She really worked those legs out.

And that pink underwear was slightly soaked in orange juice, revealing more of an outline then it should've, leaving little to imagine.

With how fast Evans managed to capture it with his trembling hands, I was impressed on the quality of the shot.

"How?" I asked.

"I prepped my scroll when Nora poled that watermelon. Gave me a window of time to focus my camera. Good thing those camera workshops gave handy tips huh?" He snickered.

"Damn Evans, you sneaky little bastard."

"Well, when you think you're about to die, you can't have any regrets, am I right?"

...

"You would've done the same thing if you're that close to death."

"Got me there."

...

"You're not planning to use this to blackmail her with this or anything are you?" I asked, raising my brow.

"Of course not!" He replied, pocketing his scroll. "I don't wanna die now, not when we're neck deep in this together."

...

"But you're not deleting it either." I deadpanned.

...

"Uh... Well...haha... Hah..." Evans muttered. "No."

...

"Alright." I sighed, getting up. "Just make sure Yang doesn't get her hands on your scroll, otherwise you're fucked."

"I know." He said, rolling his eyes "Thanks for the heads up Sherlock."

"By the way..." I said, a random thought crossing my mind as I was heading towards the door. "What was Ozpin's password?"

...

"Really? You couldn't guess?"

...

"It's Salem isn't it?"

"Well... S4L3M, but you were close."

...

"Poor guy, even after all this time, he can't let her go."

I walked out and waved one more time before closing the door gently, then headed towards the dorm to get the puff pastry out of my hair.

_Later..._

God dangit Nora

Puff pasty from the cafeteria is delicious, but that is one delivery method I would have to deny.

"You girls done in there?" I asked, banging at the door.

"Almost!" Ruby's voice cried out from the inside. "It's just Blakey's turn, after that, then we're all done!"

"Okay!" I yelled out.

...

I sighed as I clenched my fists.

What's gonna happen next in the plot?

If what Evans say is true, and that guy isn't from any other medias then he might just be human.

But...

who is he?

I'm sure I have seen him before... By the way he walks, but I just can't seem to put my finger on it.

Besides, we can't guarantee that we're the only humans who teleported here.

He can't be one of us... Can he?

He just can't be.

I thought long and hard, biting down on my finger.

So long and deep in thought, that I didn't even notice the buxom blonde that was waving at my face.

"Hello...? Remenant to Louis, do you copy?"

"Huh? AAAAAHHH! Pink!" I staggered backwards, tripping and landing on the back of my head in the process.

"What?"

"Oww..." I said, rubbing my head. "Yang don't scare me like that!"

"You've been standing there for a good 5 minutes, with me constantly waving at your face. If this is what it takes to scare you, how'd you even talk to the dead?"

"Did Blake even finish that fast?" I asked, as I got up and pat the dust off my trousers.

"Fast? It's been 20 minutes since you yelled."

"Right... Sorry..."

"Something bothering you?"

"It's... nothing..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

...

"You could always talk to us y'know." Yang shrugged. "We're a team. It's been over a semester."

"I know. I'll make sure to do just that." I said, smiling at her.

"By the way..."

"Hm?"

"Looks like that call went... really well." She said, blushing and looking away, holding her hands behind her back.

Huh?

"What call?" I asked.

"That call. After the meeting with Professor Ozpin. I never took you as a one night- or in this case, morning, stand type."

What in the fuck is she talking about?

"We were just having a food fight y'know. You work fast...

I never knew you were into guys.

Makes me feel safer already.

No wonder you didn't go for Blakey, leaving her in Sun's arms. Wait... why didn't you go for Sun?"

What the fuck?

"How'd you come into that conclusion?"

She blushed harder and then looked at the floor.

"You have something on your hair you know."

Oh for fucks-

"Yang... it's puff pastry filling."

How does she not know this?

Oh right... I went out as soon as she got up from her fall.

"Suuure... it's all white and sticky and gooey, having the consistency of Professor Oobleck's coffee."

Great...

"Just... let me shower in peace okay? You can tease me afterwards."

"Okay!" She exclaimed, rushing off into the room to play with her scroll.

Looks like even the flirter gets nervous.

Then again, who wouldn't when you see a guy with white stuff entangled in his hair?

I took 1 finger, and ran it across my hair, and put it into my mouth.

"Huh..." I said. "Strawberry."

_A couple of days later..._

"You just activated my trap card!" Yang shouted.

"WHAT?!" Ruby shouted, slamming her hands down on the table.

"Giant Nevermore!"

"NOOOO!" Ruby yelled, slaming her head onto the table.

"Looks like it's my turn." I snickered.

"Sea Feilongs! Team up with Leviathans and Attack the kingdom of Atlas!"

"How dare you?!" Yang asked, holding a hand to her chest. "Then I shield with my armada of Elysian Knights, Paladins, and Fleet!"

"Are you sure?" I asked with a smug smile. "That's your whole army right there."

"I don't care! I only have 3 life points left!"

"If I roll 5 or more, this attack's making it through, decimating your whole 3 life points, making it your loss."

"Grrrrh..." Yang grit her teeth. "Do your worst!"

...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yang cried out as she held both hands to her head, and slammed it onto the table.

"How are you so good at this?" Ruby asked, her voice muffled from touching the table. "You just started learning this game and you're already at a 4 row win streak."

Well, with the amount of board/ card games I grew up as a child,

Pokemon TCG,

Yu Gi Oh,

Cardfight Vanguard,

Buddyfight,

Magic The Gathering,

Warhammer, and a bunch load of whole other stuff, learning the basics of "**World of Remanent**" was a breeze.

Mastering it... was easier.

"Practice." I shrugged.

"Practice my ass! You basically never lost a match!" Yang shouted.

"I still don't get what's happening." Weiss admitted.

"It's alright Weiss." I chuckled. "you'll get the hang of it over time. Ruby and Yang will make sure you understand the game through so that I can kick your ass."

"Oh you did not just say that." Weiss pouted. "Yang! I demand you teach me how to play this game now!"

"I still am mourning from the current loss of the Kingdom of Atlas." Yang sobbed, putting her head in her arms.

"I said now Yang!"

"Hey.." I asked. "Where's Blake?"

"She said she wanted to have some time alone." Ruby said, finally getting up. "She wanted to dig into the White Fang stuff."

"Is Sun with her?"

"No, Sun said he needed to see a friend. Neptune I believe is his name." Weiss said, looking at her cards, and searching them up on her scroll.

Right

Since Sun is dating Blake, he arrived earlier at Beacon, to survey the cafeteria without inviting Neptune.

In other words...

Sun ditched Neptune for Blake.

Ouch

That's the bros before hoes ideal gone to trash.

...

On the bright side, Weiss doesn't get introduced to him until later on.

"I could teach you if you want." Jaune offered Weiss. "Maybe even... play your hand?"

"Please." Weiss ushered. "Like you understand how to play this game? This game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you posses."

"Speak for yourself Ice Queen." I chuckled. "You just attacked yourself multiple times a few turns ago."

...

"And the turn before that." Ruby added.

"And the turn before that." Yang added.

"Actually, as a matter of fact, I do understand how to play." Jaune said. "Just please let me play... your hand"

Ah crap... here we go.

"Hey, Jaune, let Weiss learn on her own will ya? It's more fun for her that way. Come on, you can play my hand instead." I offered, pulling my chair.

"Have somewhere to be?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Not specifically, I just... want to get some fresh air. You guys have fun!" I waved off, walking to the exit.

"I am so gonna kick your ass when we play in our dorms later on!" Weiss yelled behind me.

"Ready for a re match anytime Ice Queen." I called out behind me.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!" She yelled out in fustration.

_Later_

"Figured you'd be here."

Blake looked up to see me walking into our dorms.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

You came here afterwards, in the show, but with you dating Sun, I guess you could say that this was a

"Lucky guess."

"Right..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah just... "

"The White Fang."

She turned to face me from hugging her knees.

"Y-yeah..." she stuttered.

"You don't understand how we are all so calm about Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it."

She stared at me with her mouth agape.

"Now I seriously am starting to think that Ruby was right."

"About?"

"About you being a telepath."

"Blake, I can see it in your face."

"Is it that obvious?"

It really isn't.

"It really is."

Blake looked at the wall for a moment, then rubbed her nose ridge, sighing.

"Can I talk to you for a moment? It isn't just about the White Fang."

"Sure." I replied, taking a seat at the foot side of her bed. "What is it?"

"You were lying when you said you were acting responsible just for a recommendation letter weren't you?"

Damn heightened cat sense

"Was it that obvious?"

"It is. To me at least."

"How can you tell?"

"You're actually a nice and sweet guy." She said, scooting over closer from her back against the wall, the distance between us being about half a meter apart.

"Uh... Blake...?"

"Yes?" She asked, smiling at me.

Okay... this is weird... she has Sun doesn't she?

I made sure of that.

"N-nothing." I stuttered. "Continue."

"I know you pushed me to Sun on purpose."

Gulp

"And that you actually deep down, you care about us a lot. That's why you're being cold and distant. I get where you're coming from."

Double gulp

"I may not know your past, Louis, but I'm comfortable enough to leave you with mine."

Triple gulp

"Okay..." I said. "But I've heard about all of it before right? About the White Fang and how you used to be force into labour."

"That... wasn't the whole story." She sighed, looking down, cat ears following in that direction.

Huh... wonder what else there is to it.

"I used to have a partner, more of a mentor, really."

"Adam Taurus." I answered, getting her to stare at me, but remained smiling.

"I knew it, you're a telepath."

"Leader, black haired cat faunus, cousin. Hello? I listened to you but were you listening to me?"

"Right." She smirked. "But I never said he was my partner." She continued.

Caught me there.

"He was... extreme in his ways." She continued. "Even though he is currently not the Alpha leader, he still manages and influences lots of faunus's who work under him."

"Right."

"He... and I used to be a thing."

She stared up from the ground to see my reaction, and saw that I was still maintaining my face when we started talking.

"You... aren't surprised."

"Why would I be?"

"No reason."

Honestly Adam Taurus's character could be more developed. He does have potential. He was a great leader until Blake basically screwed him by shifting all his focus on her. It only got worse as he died in 6, fans (Including me) were blowing up all over the place, with some even refusing to watch Vol 7 when it comes out.

"So... I left as soon as I could."

"I could see that he used to be abusive. It's written all over your face."

"Yeah..."

"Let me ask you something."

"Hm?"

"Is this a heart to heart story about you wondering if you should chose between Sun or go back to him?"

She stared in disbelief and paused for a moment before she claimed "No, of course not!"

"Then...?"

"Well... I'm... confused..."

"About what?"

"I like this other guy, other then Sun... but it's not Adam."

What the fuck?

You only ever got together with Sun or Yang.

Did I miss something?

Something from other medias?

"Oh?" I asked, raising my brow.

"Yeah..."

"Isn't Sun gonna be mad if he finds out?"

"I told him about it. And he agrees that he'll give me some space to think about it, hence why I'm alone today. I let him hang out with Neptune."

SUN YOU IDIOT!

You owe me 150 lien that I owe Weiss!

"He also said that if I decide to chose the latter, he'll back off."

You're dead the next time I see you Wukong.

"If it's too much, I won't ask who. But I don't mind keeping a secret."

"Well, this person is... he... knows team RWBY."

Well that's specific

"Okay?"

"He... is comfortable to talk to, he's a nice person."

That's definitely specific

"Can you... be less vague? Lessen the radius a bit?"

"He's... a student in Beacon."

Okay, now this I can work with.

I was scanning every single character my brain could come up with that I see in the show to figure out who it is, just like those FBI fingerprint identification computer scenes in Hawaii Five O. Every single profile doesn't match. There shouldn't be anybody else capable of taking Blake's heart other then those two blondes. Who in the world?

"Uh huh..."

"He's... a close friend."

Close... close... Neptune isn't introduced yet... Jaune? No way. Ren? He barely even talks. She said he right? So there's no way it's a lesbian relationship.

"A-and he's..."

"H-he's..."

I felt warmth tingling my palms, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was only then that I realized Blake had scooted so close to me, our knees were touching. Her hand was on mine as her head was almost resting against my shoulders. Her face was facing mine, and were only inches away, with her amber eyes glimmering with hope.

Wait...

"I-its me?!" I exclaimed a little louder then I should've, going one octave higher in pitch.

"Y-yeah..."

I immidiately staggered back to my bed (Which was not much of a distance. Probably 2 meters at most) as I tried hard to hide my red cheeks. "But why?"

"You were the first person to ever accept me and hear out my story so well. Nobody, human or faunus, had ever done that."

"You gotta have more of a reason behind that."

"I-I do... You arranged the meeting with Sun. Don't get me wrong. He's a sweet guy and all, I can see that's why you set me up. A-and..."

"And...?"

"A-and also you brought me those Fish and Chips on our first date."

Oh mother of-

What have I done?

"Blake. I told you, that was-"

"Yeah, that Service thing. I don't understand what it was, and I never will unless you tell me. But that day I started to like you."

Blake...

"And these feelings..." She held at her chest. "I wasn't sure what it was at first, but it became more and more obvious as more time passed."

"Uh... Blake..."

"You don't have to answer now. I just... wanna tell you how I feel."

"Thank you but..."

I'm not even supposed to be in the cast. Hell, I'm not supposed to exist here. If any of the crew here fell in love with any of us, it'll be a disaster. Escpecially if it turns out we aren't dead and are able to find a way back. What if what we did became canon? I can't live my life knowing that Blake will be on the other side of the screen. I'm not saying I don't want to... but...

It has to be either Sun or Yang. I worked way too hard for this.

Ugh, this is gonna break her heart. But at least it makes up in character development, and confirms her to Sun.

Shit... I'm gonna have to break it to her.

Monty... forgive me.

"I...I can't..."

"O-oh..."

"I'm sorry..." I said, getting up and clenching my fists so hard, my nails almost broke skin.

"I-it's okay..." She said, welling up. "I just thought... nevermind..."

"Blake."

"Y-yes?" She stuttered between breaths.

"It's not that I don't want to give you a chance. I just can't for my own reasons. I hope you understand."

"I-its okay..." She sobbed. "You worked hard to put me and Sun together anyways... What was I thinking? About to waste your hard work? T-thank you." She said, wiping a tear that was rolling down her cheek.

I walked to the door, gripping the doorknob hard that I left a slight indent in it, and walked out.

Behind me I can hear Blake breaking down in her bed.

I tapped Evans's contact from my scroll, and clicked it.

Beep...

Beep...

A tear rolled down my face, and into the holographic screen on my scroll.

Be-

"Hmmyeah what's up Louis? It's like... 6 p.m."

"You busy?"

"Nah, was just sleeping. What's up?"

"Blake's up."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

I then told him what had just happened for the past 30 minutes.

"Wow... Damn..."

"Damn indeed."

"Why didn't you just go for it?"

"The one she fell for... it isn't me man."

"What do you mean?"

"It was me hidden behind a facade. An act. A fake me, not the real me."

"Riiiight..."

"You know we can't man."

"And this is why you're still single." Ouch... Low blow.

"Speak for yourself." I huffed, then chuckled. "Way to break the mood."

"Okay okay, too soon, but seriously, what if we're stuck here forever?"

"We can't romance with the main cast man. You know that screws them up real bad. We aren't even from same worlds."

"And you give Blake character development by doing this bla bla bla, yes I know."

"Good. Then we have an understanding."

He sighed, and then paused for a while, before replying. "Welp, what's done is done."

"Yeap, just sealed the deal with that one. I just hope I won't have to seal any more deals."

"I know... it pains me to even hear it. I can't believe you didn't reel back or at least, shed a tear witnessing it with your own eyes."

"Oh trust me I did."

"Did you now?"

"Can't break down and cry in front of her. Screws my whole tough guy act."

I can see him deadpanning on the other side. "You're doing a real good job at that. Might even be a new split personality."

"Oh shut up... Just go back to sleep." I laughed.

"You sure?"

"Yeah... I needed this... Thanks man."

"No problem brother. Take care."

**A/N**

**Do you guys see 'Romance' as a category I selected? No... I'm afraid not.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey Blake, have you seen Louis? He said he went back first." Yang asked.

Without looking up from her book, Blake replied "He was here a few hours ago. He went out afterwards, hadn't seen him since."

"Uhh... Blake you okay?"

"Your eyes are puffy." Ruby stated.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"No you're not." Weiss said, blocking the doorway just as Blake got up from her bed.

"Move..." Blake growled.

"No." Weiss said firmly.

"Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody."

"Uhh have you met Blake?" Yang asked.

"Which I get is kind of 'your thing' but, you've been doing it more then usual... escpecially after you got back, and started dating Sun. Which is unacceptable. You made a promise to me... to Louis... to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong."

Blake winced at the mention of Louis's name, then stared blankly into Weiss's eyes, then to the ground.

"So, Blake Belladona!" Weiss stated, getting up on a chair and pointing down towards Blake. "What... is wrong?"

Blake sighed, rubbing her nose ridge, then decided that she should seperate both work and feelings, so that they won't clash.

"It's... it's just I'm wondering... how can everybody just be so calm..."

"About the White Fang?"

"The White Fang, Torchwick, all of it..."

...

...

"Alright then... we're all in this together..." Blake smiled, relieved, then stared to the ground as her smile instantly dissapeared.

"Blake... that's not the whole reason is it?" Weiss asked.

"No..." She sighed. "It's not..."

Nevermind keeping feelings seperate, she couldn't take it anymore. Her mind hurts, her chest hurts, everything... hurts. Before she knew it, her voice started to crack up again as she tried to explain to the people she trust the most.

"I-it's..."

"Louis." Yang finished.

Blake stared at Yang with tears in her eyes, and then gave her a slight nod.

"Figures..." Yang said, wrapping her arms around Blake.

"You guys... don't seem all that surprised."

"Blake.. we stayed under one roof with that guy for a semester. You really think we wouldn't notice?" Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms.

"The amount of times you stole glances at him from reading your book." Ruby added. "You never do that. When Sun comes to take you out, you usually would say 'Few minutes!' while you finish your chapter."

"Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Yang asked.

"I did... it... didn't go well..."

The girls staggered backwards, and then looked at each other.

...

"He... declined?" Yang asked.

"Y-yeah... why is that so surprising? The answer was 50 50."

"He... you... both of you just seemed to have such good chemistry together."

"I know... I thought so too."

Then Blake snapped out of her current thoughts as realization kicked in.

"Wait."

"Hm?" Yang asked, still wondering and thinking why Louis would've declined her offer.

"Why aren't you guys stopping me? I have Sun."

"Well... you do seem happy with Sun." Yang said, with a tinge of hesitation. "But..."

"You seemed way happier with Louis, even though you two only went on a date once." Ruby finished.

"It's very obvious. You and Sun make a cute couple, but you're conflicted." Weiss said. "And it's tipping more towards Louis."

"I...I..."

"We'll have a talk together once he gets back. I'll make sure of it." Yang reassured Blake. "If he just declined you for no good reason, we're gonna beat em to a pulp!"

"Or freeze him when he wakes up." Weiss added. "This time remind me to freeze his head as well."

"Weiss! He's gonna die if you do that!" Ruby complained.

"It's not murder if you don't find a body." Weiss chuckled

"Did... did you just make a joke?" Yang staggered backwards.

"Is it that rare?"

"You never make jokes."

Blake giggled at how silly her teamates were, how one thing led to another, and somehow, having them here is like having a 2nd family altogether. Then another realization struck her like a truck, causing her to gasp and put her hand to her mouth.

"Louis..."

Everybody snapped their gazes at Blake.

"I told you we'll settle that when he gets back." Yang said.

"No... it's 2:12 A.M. ... He's not coming back tonight is he?"

The girls eyes went wide as dinner plates as they glanced over to their wall clock to see that Blake was right. It was super late. Usually Louis gets back a little after curfew, which was around 11.

"Something's wrong. We should go look for him." Their leader suggested. "It could be trouble."

"Yeah, he's never been out this late before. What is he doing?" Weiss huffed, though in her tone, could be heard a tinge of concern.

"I'll get Bumblebee. Who's my number 2?"

"I have night vision, it'll be easier for me to spot him... I'll go." Blake said.

_A few hours Later..._

_Blake's POV_

Where the hell is he...

Come on Louis... where did you go at this time of the night?

He can't be trying to face the White Fang alone can he?

The night air was chilly, but I didn't care.

I need to find him.

We need to find him.

Please... Just show up somewhere...

Anywhere...

"Blake...

Blake!" Yang yelled out from the roaring winds that brushed past her skin.

"Yeah?!" Blake answered, snapping out of her thoughts.

"This is our 3rd rotation encircling town. Did you manage to pick up his scent?!"

"No... it's as if he'd never took a step in town today!"

"Fuck!"

The shopkeeper then waved, causing Yang to pull on the brakes, skidding Bumblebee to a halt.

"Are... you girls looking for something?" The shopkeeper asked. "I... noticed that this is your 3rd appearence around the block."

"Yes, have you seen a man whose hair is combed to the side, tall figure, and was wearing a black... A...adi...adidas jacket?" Yang struggled.

"What kind of brand is that? Never heard of it."

"Please, we're looking for him. He's our friend. He's been missing for a few hours." Blake added.

"No, not a clue. I didn't see anybody who fits that description walk around here. If there is, and you girls pass by these parts again... I'll be sure to let you know."

"Okay... thank you." Blake replied, though her cat ears fell to her sides from the bad news.

Yang punched the gas to full speed, making her engines roar and leaving a trail of dust.

"Shit! Where could he be?! I hope Weiss and Ruby are having better luck then us!"

"I... hope so too.." Blake answered.

The pain in his eyes when he declined my offer...

It was just as painful for him then it was for me...

Please... Louis...

Don't do anything stupid.

_Weiss's POV_

Oh my god.

Who the hell goes out at 2 A.M. in the morning and doesn't leave a message?

Wait a minute...

HIS SCROLL!

I immidiately took out my scroll and browsed over the contacts to the one labelled under the name: '_Pervert (Maybe?)_'

Well...

There's always a first time for everything... right?

I called him, praying that he would pick up.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Please leave a message.

FUCK!

That's the only time I'm cursing... in my head.

To make sure, I called him one more time.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

Please leave a message.

Voicemail again.. huh?

Where in Remenant could you be at Louis?

Everybody's worried sick about you...

Including me...

_Louis's POV_

Good lord I feel like shit.

First Yang and Ruby,

now Blake too.

All I need to do is shatter the Ice Queen's heart and then it'll be complete. I thought to myself sarcastically.

Vrrrr

I took out my scroll to the contact under the name '_Ice Queen Junior_'

Huh.. speak of the devil...

She never calls.

Probably it's to tell me I screwed up or something

Ah whatever, I don't need nagging right now...

...

...

What the hell are you doing Louis...

Get your act together.

If you're not man enough to make it up to Blake like Evans did...

then what's the point?

...

A huge splash of water could be seen, with a deafening splosh being heard, along with a few bubbles popping in the surface as something heavy fell into the deep azure.

I felt the water drench both my face and my skin, encasing me like a cocoon.

The water was cold.

Cold... and calm once more.

It was beautiful.

...

Just think of the good times...

Get rid of the bad...

It'll all be over soon...

...

...

...

_Ruby's POV_

Come on... come on...

Louis you're like a big brother to all of us...

Well, maybe not to Yang, but to me.

Where the hell could you have gone?

Everybody's worried sick.

AH! What's that sound!

_Squeak_

...

Oh... it's just rats.

Wait a minute

RATS!

_Boom_

_Boom_

I got up and fired Cresent Rose at the dumpsters, and then it was silent again.

"Whew..." I breathed out as I wiped sweat from my forehead.

Come on Louis...

Where... are you?

Please... come out.

We miss you already...

Weiss wants to kick your butt in 'World of Remenant.' when you get back. She was so enthustiastic that she brought the board back to our room when I nearly forgot about it...

Please...

Please... be okay...

Please...

Be safe.

Yang's POV

That idiot! First he hurt her feelings now he's gonna go incognito?!

When I meet him face to face, I'm gonna beat him to a pulp!

Blake hasn't been the most talkative types, but she's our friend nevertheless.

What are you thinking?

Where the hell are you right now?

I know I can be harsh on you sometimes,

and a bit of a tease, even though I know you're telling the truth, but...

I'm never gonna admit that.

It's fun to tease you, escpecially with the reactions you give me.

However...

honestly I see a little Ruby in you that makes me want to take care of you sometimes.

Sure you may act cold and distant.

But we're a family.

So... Where could you be?!

"Yang!" Blake called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?!"

"Ruby and Weiss can't find him. Let's head back to the dorms to group up!"

"B-but..."

"The sun's rising up! We did what we could. Thank you, but this will exhaust us to no end. He's not here."

I growled and cursed under my breath.

I knew she was right, but I didn't wanna accept it.

"One last sweep over the docks. Then we head back."

"Yang..."

"It's worth a shot!"

"Thank you..."

"You don't need to thank me. We're in this together!" I said, punching the gas to let Bumblebee roar mightily.

_After everybody gathered at Beacon's courtyard..._

"No luck?" Blake asked, getting off Bumblebee.

"None..." Weiss admitted. "I searched that area over and over, asked people if they've seen him... to no avail."

"Oh Louis... where are you...?" Ruby asked, her worry skyrocketing.

"There's no use standing idly here... c'mon. Let's head inside. We can search again once we rest up." Yang said, taking off her helmet and parking Bumblebee.

...

...

_Once in front of their dorm room_

"Did... we leave the lights on?" Blake asked.

"I don't remember." Ruby admitted. "We might've forgotten to switch it off because we left in a hurry."

"Let's just head inside and rest... I'm tired." Weiss said, shoulders slumped.

"You think we're not?!" Yang glared, her illiac eyes starting to turn crimson.

"Hey.. stop it!" Ruby shouted, seperating the both of them. "We did what we could. We're just tired. Let's just call it a night okay?"

"Alright." Weiss grumbled, fumbling with the keys.

"Wait a minute... I smell something..." Blake said, sniffing the air.

"What is it?" Yang asked.

"Something smells... fishy?"

"You really need your sleep Blake." Ruby deadpanned. "Either that or you hang around my sister too much."

Yang was too tired to coment back on that, and reached for the doors once Weiss unlocked it.

...

They opened their doors, and dropped their weapons.

...

...

"L-L-Louis?" Blake stammered.

_Louis's POV_

"Hm? Oh, hi Blake. You girls all just got back? All night? Glad to see you girls managed to have each other's backs.

Which pub did you girls hit? Hei Xiong's? Or should I say, Juniors?"

...

...

"NO YOU IDIOT!" Weiss shouted, storming into the room. "WE WERE OUT ALL NIGHT LOOKING FOR YOU!"

"Me?" I asked confused. "But why?"

"YOU WERE MISSING ALL NIGHT LONG!" Now it was Yang's turn to scream on top of her lungs, eyes definitely crimson in colour, making me take a step back.

"B-but..."

"BUT WHAT?!" Yang asked, picking me up by the collar.

"I just... wanted to do something nice for you all for once." I sighed.

"Huh?" Yang asked, putting me down.

Only then did team RWBY notice the gigantic box that was on the floor beside my bed, about the size of well... my bed. Both in length and in width, leaving no space for Weiss or Ruby to step in or out of their beds.

"What is this?" Ruby asked, forgetting her fustration in her attempts to find me.

"Well..."

I opened the lid to reveal.

Not 1,

Not 2,

but 3 large Blue Fin Tunas.

"W-w-what?!" Weiss stammered.

"Yeah well..." I started, scratching the back of my head. "I'd figure... Since I uh... haven't been so friendly. I gotta make it up to you guys in a way."

...

"Besides, without me having an aura, in that Shipment Yard fight, I might be one of the most useless among you all. Heck. I feel more worthless then Jaune."

"HEY!" I can hear from the other room.

"Sorry Jaune! Can't mess with facts!" I snickered.

"And... you wanted to make it up to us by giving us..."

"Well, I wanted to cook for you guys as a way to say... sorry and Thank you."

"Yang..." I started. "You and I got off on the wrong foot, I'm sorry if it had upset you that I would be staying in the room with the 4 of you girls. What I wanted to do was just prevent myself from getting killed by your gauntlets. That's all."

"Well... as long as you knock..."

"You've been like the older sister I never had. Though if you could... tone down the teasing a bit."

"Not a chance little man!" Yang poked her tounge out.

I shook my head, then turned to Weiss.

"Weiss, I'm just gonna be honest. You were a bitch at the beginning of the semester."

"Hey!"

"And to some extent, you still are."

"Grrrrh!"

"But I know you could be nicer if you want to. I am familiar with your fathers... work ethics and teaching methods. Being raised in a family that's all high and mighty, I know that he set very high standards for you. Please... come to me, come to us, if you ever want to talk about it. We could help.

"Hmp!" She puffed her cheeks and huffed while crossing her arms, then opened one eye.

"Of course." She said with a small smile.

"Ruby."

"Yea?"

"You're the opposite of Yang. You're the little sister I never had. You should have more confidence in yourself in your social skills. You make a great team leader, and... in the future, I can see you leading any team you want, even though it's not team RWBY."

"But I don't want that..." She puffed up her cheeks.

"I know." I chuckled. "But eventually, after graduation, you have to learn how to someday."

"Okay..." She said tiredly, yawning afterwards.

"Blake..."

...

"Yes Louis?"

"I'm sorry I declined that offer. Believe me, I have a good reason I cannot sp-"

I was stopped when she walked up to my face put her second finger to my lips.

"If you can't tell us the reason aloud, then there's no need for you to explain it."

"Right... but I apologize for-"

I was stopped again by Blake suddenly advancing to my side, tiptoeing, and giving me a peck on the cheek.

"It's okay..." She smiled. "Don't be sorry. I am the one who offered my feelings to you. I should've known that there was a chance for you to decline. I forgive you, and you don't need to feel bad about anything... Okay?"

...

Blood was roaring in my ears as I held my hand on my cheeks, that were turning brighter red by the second.

Did that...

really just happen?

"S-so..." I stammered, still in disbelief. "Does this mean we're good?"

Blake scoffed, and pulled me into a tight hug, with team RWBY following her example.

"Yeah..." She smiled. "We're good."

"Friends?"

"Team." Yang corrected. "Weiss, Blake, everybody here, we're a team."

"Thanks..." I smiled.

Acting out is tiring.

And so is fishing...

I've been shutting them out for way too long.

Finally, I can open up, and ...

At least tell some stuff to these guys instead of keeping it pent in.

...

...

"But Louis." Weiss said, retracting from her hug.

"Hm?"

"Where are we gonna store fishes as big as these?"

...

...

...

"Doesn't the cafeteria have a big fridge?"

"It's about three quarters the size of what you just caught."

...

"Not to mention you caught 3." Yang added.

...

...

...

...

"You didn't think this through did you?"

"Uhhh... Fuck."

**A/N**

**Had you guys for a second there, huh? xD**

**If any of you guys reading this are having any issues with depression, suicidal thoughts, etc, please go see a psychiatrist, or please be sure to call Suicide Prevention hotlines. **


	11. Chapter 11

_A few days ago, in an undisclosed location (Mount Glenn)_

Someone can be seen leaning towards the railing by the balcony, at the edge of the roof, overviewing the abandoned ruins of an incomplete city, humming to himself

_".. can you see all of me?_

_Walk into my mystery, step inside and hold on your dear life..."_

"PSYCHO SMILE!"

_Do you remember me? Captured you and set you free..."_

"PSYCHOOOO SMILEEEE!"

_"I am all I-"_

Psycho Smile then felt somebody tap him on his shoulders.

"Huh?" Psycho Smile looked around as he took off his wireless headsets. "Lol, Torchwick, what's the rush?"

"We're supposed to leave 10 minutes ago! But you can't hear us through those thick headsets of yours!

I could even hear your music from all the way over at the entrance 20 meters away! Just how loud were they?!"

"Lol... These are noise cancelling skullcandies. Of course someone as dimwitted as you can't simply appreciate how good these are. They're amazing... Especially when they keep the noisy ones like... You for example... Out."

Torchwick grit his teeth as he thought about raising his cane and ending it right then and there, but then sighed and stopped himself and put his hands on his face.

"Just get on the bullhead... We're leaving."

"Is it finally time?" Psycho Smile asked, throwing his cape over his shoulder and looking calmly into the broken moon.

Then suddenly, he cackled throughout the night. "It's finally my time to shine! Team RWBY will understand true terror! They will know fear!

They'll understand my wrath. I am the shadows that lurk in the night. I am-" He exclaimed, spreading his arms out in a wide angle.

"Yeah yeah, just please, can we leave? You've been leaning on the edge of the balcony so long, I'm wondering if it'll give away under your weight."

"Let's go." Psycho Smile said, throwing the Cape over his shoulder as he turned back, and stormed downstairs to meet Cinder, and 2 new recruits.

"Hm?" Psycho Smile asked.

"Mr... Ugh, Psycho Smile,"

Mercury and Emerald jumped and stared at Cinder at the name reveal of the purple hooded friend in front of them, but then quickly regained composure and stood straight up with both hands behind their backs.

Cinder paused for a moment before continuing to say

"These are my associates, Em-"

"Emerald and Mercury. I know." Psycho Smile finished, not even bothering to look at them as he shoulder bumped Mercury, brushing past them, and into the bullhead.

Mercury grit his teeth and turned around, feet already reeling backwards to deliver a painful blow to Psycho Smile's groin, only to get stopped by Cinder putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What's his deal?" Mercury asked.

"I don't know..." Cinder sighed. "We'll deal with him later... For now, he's an asset."

"I thought you have high standards for the staff you hire?" Torchwick asked, walking to the bullhead himself to bid Cinder farewell.

"He's an exception." Cinder scoffed. "You know what to do here right?"

"Yeah yeah, little red and her team is gonna come here soon, but if you and your... Lackeys can do your jobs well, she'll never find this place."

"Who are you calling a lackey?!" Emerald shouted, unholstering her guns and pointing them at Torchwick.

"Enough!' Cinder yelled, motioning for Emerald to stand down. "We have enough on our hands as it is, don't make this harder then it already is."

Emerald grit her teeth, and sighed. She knew Cinder was right. Hopefully things go accordingly, so that they don't have to fight. Fighting was always a pain, since she has been doing it all her life.

She then holstered her guns, and poked her tounge out as she took her seat in her bullhead.

"I'll see you soon Roman." Cinder said as the Bullhead took off and the doors clicked shut.

...

...

"Well, you know what this calls for?"

One of the Faunus guards on patrol asked. "A party?"

"No!"

"Alcohol?"

"No! More work! Get to it!"

A chorus of "Awwwwwwws..." Then sounded throughout the night as Torchwick lit his cigar.

_Present day_

Vrrrrr

Vrrrrr

Vrr-

"Yeah, Louis what's up?" I greeted as I got up from my hospital bed. The wounds I got from the food fight had healed well with Atlas tech this past week, and I can barely see scratches on the surface of my skin.

...

"Mhmm..."

...

...

I suddenly burst out laughing so loud, I'm sure some wounds in my gut might have re opened. "WAHAHAHAHAHAHA, YOU WHAT?!"

"Oh man, that's hysterical. Woohoo..."

...

"Yeah sure man, who doesn't want a free buffet from the world's most expensive Tuna?."

"The Doctor said I should be able to get discharged today, so I think I'm fine."

...

"Alright. Wait, you sure you want team CRDL to join in?"

...

"You won't be able to finish the Tuna without them? Is it that big?"

...

"221 KILOS?! PER FISH?!" I exclaimed.

"Jesus, how'd you manage to-"

"Nevermind, I'm not even gonna ask..."

...

"Make sure they strike a deal not to bully people anymore huh... That's an interesting deal I can arrange."

"Alright, I'll see you at lunch then, send the girls my love."

...

Beep.

Damn, that Louis. When he texted this morning that he wanted to make up to the girls cuz he felt bad, this was not what I had in mind.

"Oh well," I shrugged.

Lunch is on the house.

_Louis's POV_

Whew, that laughter of his almost broke my eardrums.

I then walked back to the cafeteria, where team CFVY and JNPR are already present, along with a few of background characters I don't recognize.

"Hey junior!" Coco waved. "Thanks for the free meal!"

"This tuna is delicious!" Velvet said, nibbling on a piece of sashimi.

"And so fresh!" Ren said with wide eyes, amazed.

"Not to mention with the quantity you caught, Nora might even be full for once." Phyrra laughed, pointing at Nora who was holding her stomach.

"Don't mention it." I replied, taking a seat between Yang and Blake.

"Woah there Blake, slow down, there's plenty to go around." Yang said, looking at Blake having a huge stack of Tuna sashimi on her plate.

"I can't help it... It's so... fresh!" She admitted with sparkling eyes and a drooling mouth, getting me and some others to chortle to see her so out of character before the Vytal festival.

"So let me get this straight." Jaune said, putting his spoon down. "You girls went searching for this guy last night, thinking he might be in trouble, or... Suicidal, but it turns out he was just trying to make it up to you."

I looked over as to who Jaune was gazing to when he said _Suicidal_ and saw Blake's cat ears falling to the sides.

"Why would I be?"

"I can see the pain that was reflected in your eyes when you talked to me. It's as if you're hurt twice as much as I am... And my thoughts wandered off when you didn't return at 2 am."

"I... See." I wavered. "Now that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Remind me to try it next time."

Blake recoiled and her cat ears stood up alert as she glared at me, and couldn't help but blush at me when she saw me snickering, and looked around to see that everybody else was looking at her with a smile on their face.

"You are so easy to tease." I poked my tounge out, getting a hard punch in the shoulder.

"I'm gonna get you back for that." She whispered under her breath.

"Hey I got you a full day's worth of the world's most expensive Tuna. I'd say we're not even close to even."

"And I got you a peck on the cheek. Consider it even." She smirked as she blushed brighter.

"Shhh not so loud! What if Sun hears?" I asked, my cheeks starting to burn, still feeling the tingling sensation on it.

"Okay, I changed my mind, now we're even." She chuckled. "Your reaction beats anything else. Also, if anything, he already heard."

I quickly spun my head left and right, searching for possible spiky hair and a yellow tail, poking out of the incoming crowd.

Then... I heard Blake chuckling.

"He's not here yet... Is he...?" I asked.

"Nope." She smiled, getting a glare from me in return as I sat down.

"But I wasn't lying."

"Huh?"

My heart stopped when she waved her scroll, showing me that it was on an ongoing call with Sun.

Gulp.

...

Gulp.

Cold sweat started to roll down my forehead.

The last thing I want his detachable nunchuks to be...

Is up my ass.

"You... Want me to take that?" I asked as she pushed her scroll across the table in front of me.

"He said he wanted to speak with you... Alone." She said with a small smile.

"Alright then." I sighed, preparing myself for the worst as I took her scroll and isolated myself.

...

How bad could it be?

It's just Sun.

The friendly neighbourhood spidermonkey

...

...

I drew in a deep breath, before putting Blake's scroll up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Louis." Sun started. "I'm sure you just wasted all of Blake's credits there."

"Yeah sorry, was just... Busy... With stuff" I shrugged. "Besides, Weiss will probably cover for it."

"Oh, I hope I'm not holding up the preparations for the tuna party, speaking of which, I'm on the way right now! Sorry we're late, Neptune had to gel his hair up when he heard there will be beautiful ladies there, like the ones in team RWBY!"

Then I imagine him putting hands to his mouth in realization because then he said

"But don't tell Blake I said that."

His tone seems... Friendly as usual.

"Relax lover boy." I chuckled. "Your secrets safe with me."

...

...

"Okay..."

And... Suddenly, his tone just shifted to a more depressed one.

Alright.. here we go.

"So... What's up?"

"Listen... I don't know how to say this properly, so I'm just gonna speak what's on my mind. You cool with that?"

Alright whatever it is, I'm ready.

...

At least I hope I am.

"Shoot."

"Blake... She... Likes you a lot."

"Mhmm. She told you what my response was?"

"Yeah, she called me 5 minutes after you declined her, and it took her a while to calm down and stop crying. Even when I visited her dorms, she didn't open up."

"Are you sure that's because of that? Or because she doesn't want to cause a misunderstanding when her teammates get back to find out that her boyfriend in the same room as her as the sun sets?" I asked, raising my brow.

"Way to ruin the mood Louis." Sun said with a chuckle. "Maybe this is why she likes you."

"Beats me, never had much luck with women where I come from."

...

"Anyways... I actually... Wanted to thank you."

"For...?"

"For getting me together with her. We were complete strangers at first, but it was love at first sight. Never knew a girl like her back at Vacuo, it's as if we were made for each other."

"No problem. Do take care of her. Even though I'm not her partner, I'm still her roomate, and I still do care for her in ways you don't."

"You don't need to remind me... I might get more jealous then I already am."

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my nose ridge.

"Relax dude, I always knock, there hadn't been any 'accidents' yet, and I won't be the one to start it."

Not until I get my aura anyways.

"Yeah sure dude." Sun said, indicating from his tone that there had to at least have been 1. "Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Blake... She likes you more then she likes me."

"Mhmm."

"And..."

"And...?"

"And I want her to like me more... So... Can I like... Ask you for tips? If it's cool with you."

...

...

Did I just hear him correctly?

I did a double take as I recalled his last words.

...

"Hello...? Louis, ya still there?

"Run that by me again Sun."

"Uhh, I was asking if it's cool with you to tell me how to get Blake to like me more."

...

What

Me?

Relationship advice?

I've never even gotten into a relationship before.

...

I can hear Evans laughing from the med bay right now.

"Uhm... Sure... I guess, if you're gonna trust me with it."

"Awesome! Neptune told me not to do it. Good thing I didn't listen."

"To do what?"

"Ask other people for relationship advice. He said I should go to him, and him alone."

And just like that, all the nervousness and guilt is washed away from my body.

Well damn

Now I don't feel too bad about myself.

If Sun had followed his best friend's advice...

Blake's hard earned relationship will be cut... Very shortly... by Neptune's flirty one liners.

As I put a hand on my face imagining what could've been, I said

"Yeah...uh.. no."

"I know right." Sun laughed. "Anyways, we're closeby, talk to you later?"

"You have my number."

"Awesome! Thanks man, I knew I could count on you!"

Beep.

Well... That went well.

And I thought I was gonna be talking with Adam Taurus number 2.

_A couple days later..._

Evans and I isolated ourselves in team RWBY's room as we appeared deep in thought. Why we didn't think of this before? We have no idea. But Phyrra had come up with a suggestion that we should unlock our aura's, like she did to Jaune during initiation.

Yang and Ruby had volunteered.

"You ready to do this man?" I asked.

"Am I ready to do this? Maybe. Do I want to do it? No... Not really." Evan asked back.

I drew a deep breath and replied. "Well, what's the worse that can happen?"

...

"Considering Yang is unlocking your aura and Ruby is unlocking mine?" Evans asked, getting me to give a slight, but curious nod.

"Best case scenario, we open our eyes and wake up with instant similar sembelances, you become The Human Torch while I become The Flash."

"That doesn't sound too bad." I shrugged.

"Worse case scenario? You become Ghost Rider while I become Black Flash, and we both go on an unwitting rampage of a killing spree together like Zeref from Fairy Tail, destroying the show we care about, and everything we worked so hard to build."

...

"That went to really morbid places real quick."

"But you do see where I'm coming from."

"Well... let's just hope I don't end up being Cosmic Ghost Rider supporting Salem while you roam the world killing plants." I joked.

"We're from earth man... Not Remenant. I'm just... not so sure about the side effects, and I'm not sure I want to know."

"It's better then getting scratches from a paperclip."

"Yeah, if it works." He deadpanned. "What if it doesn't and we just exhausted Yang and Ruby's aura for nothing?"

"They'll just regain it through a good night's rest." I replied confidently. "Don't worry too much about it. They won't be willing to help us if they don't know what they're doing."

"Just remember, Mu No Hado. Not Satsui No Hado." He reminded

"Yeah yeah, find your inner circle whatever. Relax. I won't go power hungry crazy just because I have an aura unlocked."

"Alright man..." He said, walking up to the door, knocking 3 times.

...

Yang and Ruby walked in, with Weiss and Blake trailing behind.

"Alright then." Yang said, taking in a deep breath. "Let's get started."

It took a few minutes to adjust to a comfortable position,

It got awkward at times when we both stared into our partners eyes, and broke away. I even glanced to see Evans cheeks getting slightly red at times. In the end we all settled on standing up, however...

...

Ruby needed a chair to adjust to Evan's height.

...

"Shorty." I teased, poking my tounge out.

"Ugh..." Ruby rolled her eyes, and puffed up her cheeks. "Let's just get this over with."

"See you on the other side." Evans joked, making me roll my eyes.

"Don't be so overdramatic." I responded, and we both closed our eyes.

Both Ruby and Yang put their hands on our shoulders, and chanted simultaneously:

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

...

Aura...

...

It comes by many names.

...

Chi

Chakra

Yin and Yang

A source of energy

Our core

Our true selves.

...

Concentrate

...

With my aura unlocked,

I might even get a semblance...

Just... Concentrate...

...

...

_Pffffffffbbbrrrrrt_

My eyes instantly shot and my concentration broke, just like that. I glanced around to see where Yang is glaring at, her expression between disgusted and amused.

"Evans..." I started, looking at him blushing hard and Ruby almost falling back from her chair, trying to avoid the 'not so silent' but deadly cloud that is spreading around at a rapid pace.

"You concentrated way too hard didn't you?"

"Yeah... I think I did..."

...

...

"Jesus! What did you have for lunch?!" I asked, waving the miasma that made its way to my nose.

"I should've went easy on the beans!" He admitted as he opened the doors, sprinting back to his room.

From the looks on Blake's face, this is one of those times she wishes she didn't have that enhanced Faunus nose.

Weiss's face started to turn green as Ruby yelled out "CODE RED! CODE RED!" And burst into rose petals, rushing out the door.

"Abandon ship!" I yelled out, and exited the gassing chambers that was quickly filling up with toxin, with Yang and Weiss trailing behind me.

"Wait... where's Blake?" I asked as we skidded to a halt.

"It's too late!" Yang stopped me as I tried to run back into the room.

"She was so young." Weiss said, wiping an invisible tear from her eye.

"Blake!" I yelled out.

"Help... me..." A faint cry could be heard echoing through the hallways.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"


	12. Chapter 12

"U-uhh Ruby..." I stammered, as a bead of cold sweat rolled down my face.

"Hm? Yes Louis?" Ruby asked innocently.

...

How did it get to this?

...

Currently me and Evans are in team RWBY's/my room (Again), sitting at the edge of my bed a few hours after the deadly gas had dissapated. Just in case Evans decide to drop another bomb, team RWBY made sure to open the windows this time.

Blake was found laying unconscious on the floor, but we managed to wake her up after a few minutes of constant shaking and fanning her with a can of tuna.

She threw Evans a dirty glare, but accepted his apology when he offered her the tuna.

Since the proccess of unlocking our auras was rudely interupted,

and we're unsure wether or not we actually unlocked it,

Ruby had suggested that we test it out.

So...

How do we do that?

Of course the easiest way is to hurt ourselves and see if the attack would or would not pierce through.

Which I don't mind if it's miniscule in scale, for example, a pin prick.

However...

Ruby did not consider such plans, thinking something miniscule and small could heal fast due to our immune systems instead, and thought we can't tell the difference on which one patched us up, thus defeating the purpose of doing such actions in the first place.

So...

She decided to take things into her tiny little hands.

Normally I would agree if it was bumped up to a reasonable scale, such as a blade of a cutter.

So...

why is it that I have Cresent Rose's blade at the tip of my palm, while Evans has Myrtenaster to his?!

HOW IS THIS FAIR IN ANY WAY?!

"Are you sure... I can't use Gambol Shroud or something...?"

"Pfffft, nonsense. Gambol Shroud's blade can't cut too deep."

"Actually it ca-" Blake tried to answer, but got stopped when Yang clamped her hand on her mouth.

"Nonsense Blake." Yang grinned. "The more fatal the wound is... the better!"

So Yang is a Yangdere (Damnit Yang) noted.

"So... why does Evans get Myrtenaster again?" I asked, putting my free hand to my nose ridge.

"Myrtenaster can puncture a deep hole on Evans's palm." Ruby explained. "So it's just as fatal as Cresent Rose."

"You do realize if we haven't actually unlocked our auras I'll get my entire palm chopped off right?"

"And I'll get a hole in mine." Evans added.

"Well, let's just hope you do then!" She said gleefully, while me and Evans exchanged uneasy looks.

I closed my eyes with one palm while the other was held out as I waited for Ruby's signal.

I took a deep, nervous breath as I gave a slight nod.

"Okay Louis... here we go!"

...

...

_Slash_

_Thud_

_..._

_..._

Tic

Toc

Tic

Toc

My heart was racing like crazy.

Did it work?

I hope it did...

"Uhh, Louis..." Ruby started.

...

Oh no

"Don't panic but..." Blake continued.

...

My eyes shot wide in my palm and immidiately closed shut as I whimpered at the edge of my bed, not wanting to think of what Ruby just took off. I could imagine blood spraying all over my bed, soaking my sheets while my detached fingers wiggled like a lizard's tail.

"H-how bad is it?" I trembled, putting my face as far away from the palm of my other hand as possible.

...

"H-horrible." Weiss said, putting a hand to her mouth.

Then I heard chortling from all 4 girls, and after a few seconds, Ruby and Yang ended up bursting out laughing.

Son of a bitch.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that my right palm... was alright.

"YOU GUYS ARE DICKS!" I shouted as I crossed my arms.

Ruby rolled on the floor as she roared with laughter, while Yang was holding on the frame of the bed for support.

"Let me guess..." I huffed as my eyes darted to Blake. "This was your idea?"

"Gotta get you back somehow." Blake admitted with a shrug and a smirk.

"Not to mention we never got you back from worrying us, dissapearing all night like that." Yang added.

My eyes then locked to Evans's, where he apparently passed his Myrtenaster jabbing test as well. "And you knew about this?" I asked.

"Hey, give me some credit!" He grinned. "I knew it the same time you do pal. Though I would admit that they have a twisted sense of humor."

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes.

"Relax will you?" Yang laughed, putting a hand to my shoulder. "At least now we know you've unlocked your aura."

"Yeah, way to clarify that goldilocks." I sighed, but then settled on a faint smile. "So... does that mean I could join you on the raid tonight?"

...

"Wait... we.. never told you about that." Ruby said, squinting her eyes and snapping her gaze onto mine.

"Yeah..." Yang added, joining Ruby in squinting her eyes as well. "You were out fishing for tuna when Blake were discussing it out with us."

"Uhh... lucky guess?" I smiled innocently.

"Eventually you're gonna have to make another good excuse." Weiss scoffed. "It's getting redundant."

I looked uneasily at Evans, who stared at me, giving me a silent message.

'Dude, how'd you survive this long?'

I rolled my eyes, giving another silent message on my own.

'I don't know man. I winged a backstory.'

'A backstory?!' He reeled back. 'Your winging skills aren't the best...'

'I know. Just... roll with it.'

'...'

'Oh btw, you don't know about this plan either... remember?'

'OH riiiight.'

"Sounds like fun. May I come along?" Evans asked.

Team RWBY then snapped their gazes at Evans and then back to me, who shrugged in response.

"If he wants to come along, let em. Besides, he has his aura unlocked too."

"Yeah but... this is... An operation I would prefer to keep in the ranks of our team." Blake said.

"Besides..." Weiss added. "Didn't you just get discharged from the hospital less then a week ago?"

"Yeah..." Ruby added. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psssh, that's dumb, you should always get friends involved." A voice called out from outside the open window, making all 4 girls jolt back while me and Evans remained calm.

"Sun?!" Blake asked, looking at the monkey faunus hanging upside down in front of their window sill.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked.

"Oh this? It's easy, I do it all the time!"

"You did what?!" Weiss yelled back.

"I climb trees all the time." he clarified.

"So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy and that purple hooded guy from the docks?" He asked, climbing into the room.

Ruby rubbed her nose ridge while she repeated. "Sorry Sun, we really don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"And like I said, that's dumb." He repeated as well. "That's why I brought Neptune." He said, pointing outside.

Team RWBY then poked their head outside to a blue haired boy who was sticking to the wall. "Sup?" he asked.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways." Neptune replied. "Seriously, can I come in though, it's like... really high up right now."

He wasn't wrong. It was the 4th floor.

Good thing his weakness was water, not the fear of heights.

_A few minutes later, with Neptune almost falling to his death multiple times..._

"Alright, I'll go with Weiss." Ruby stated. "Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang. That leaves Louis and Evans..."

...

Ruby will split with Weiss eventually, and meet up with Penny, Penny won't be revealing herself as a cyborg to Ruby if Evans decide to tag along with her, and if he decides to roll with Weiss, he'll just be waiting idly while Weiss makes the call, which means...

"Alright then, I'll go with Sun and Blake." I said. "Evans can go with Neptune and Yang."

"What? You sure?" Blake asked, tightening the ribbon on her hands. "It's an all faunus recruitement you know."

"I won't be coming inside." I said. "Also, make sure that you all have explosive dust rounds."

"Those are... Highly volatile and sensitive. Very hard to use." Weiss said. "Why would we be needing those?"

"Just... a hunch that we would have to deal with Atlas tech."

"You think the Atlesian army is supporting Torchwick and the White Fang?" Weiss glared, offended.

"No Weiss." I rolled my eyes. "I'm saying I got a feeling they stole it, and we'll be facing some of the higher end ones."

"Schnee Dust I can understand but Atlas tech? That sounds a little too far fetched. No way all that cargo can get stolen unguarded."

"I've done it before." Blake said, gritting her teeth. "It's a possibility we can't outrule."

...

"Ugh... alright fine..." Weiss said after a moment of hesitation. "Here." She said after digging her briefcase, handing Sun, Blake and me a couple of explosive dust cartridges. "Remember... these are highly sensitive."

"Just like you are? Yeah yeah, we got it Ice Queen." I smirked, getting a unamused glare in return.

"Wait... Evans is gonna come with us?" Yang asked, confused. "Bumblebee doesn't have enough room for 3..."

...

I stared at Evans, and after a while, we burst out laughing, getting confused looks from everybody else in return.

"Where he's from? A standard motorbike always has room for 4."

"5." Evans added. "if 3 of the passengers are kids."

Yang 's eyes widened as she stared at Evans who had was slapping his knee as his laughter died down. Evans nodded in confirmation, wiping a tear from his eye.

Team RWBY, Sun and Neptune just looked at each other, but decided to trust me with this one. I've never been wrong so far.

"Well... if you say so." Yang shrugged. "I won't be the one getting off in case of it getting cramped."

"Hey, trust me, Evan's can sit on the edge and he won't be the one falling over." I said reassuringly.

"Alright then lets do this!" Ruby said gleefully, fist bumping the air.

Later...

"Alright Louis, you stay here. Any closer and they'll sniff you out." Blake said, taking out her mask.

How the heck did they even manage to get those?

It's not like it comes in a gift bag after registering your name on a recruitement list.

"Alright. Be careful. If anything happens, take the powers out, and escape through the glass panels on the roof. Be... careful to endanger as little civillians as possible."

"Civilians? Why would we bring the battle to civilians?" Sun asked.

"Just... take my word for it." I sighed. "Just a gut thing."

"Okay." Blake said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks.. for helping."

Well, I'm technically not helping, I'm just accompanying you guys here to make sure Purple hood doesn't show up and change the flow.

I'm not helping... Yet...

"No prob. I'll see you guys later." I waved off and walked in the opposite direction.

Things should go as normal from here on out.

Now... to get to the highways.

There's no penalty on getting to the party early... right?

...

...

_Shift_

...

...

"HOLY SHIT! Louis was right!" Sun shouted as he burst through the windows. "How is he 100% accurate?!"

"He's got some sort of supernatural powers of sort! Lets him forsee into the future!" Blake replied between breaths, shooting behind her with Gambol Shroud to no avail.

"His Sembelance?! That's breaking news! Maybe now's a good time to call for backup?!" He asked, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"On it!" Blake replied, taking out her scroll.

...

...

"How the hell are you staying on this bike?!" Neptune asked over the roaring winds.

"Hey, Louis told you, I'm a natural!" Evans smirked, holding onto Neptune's waist as Yang pulled a wheelie with Bumblebee.

...

...

...

"WoaAAAAH!" Sun and Neptune cried simulteneously, getting tossed off the highway.

"Blake I'm in position!" Ruby yelled over the intercoms, and Weiss can be seen plunging a rapier to the floor, creating a slippery surface for Torchwick to slide into, crashing into a holographic wall, and onto the floor below.

_5 Minutes Prior_

_Louis's POV_

"Hm? Sup Ruby."

"Louis?" Ruby asked, extending Cresent Rose. "I thought you were supposed to be with Sun and Blake. How'd you get here so fast?"

"Well, I walked obviously." I said, taking out Bloody Berry. "Besides, there was no way I'm gonna escape the faunus's keen scent. So... I thought I'll come here early."

"B-but... I just told the others about this position. How'd you know to come here?"

"Guess I was closeby when you said that over the intercoms."

Clanking of heavy metal could be heard at the highways overhead, followed by the yelling of 2 men who just got thrown off it. I stepped over to Ruby for not wanting to be crushed under the sheer weight of an Atlesian Paladin.

"Get ready." I beckoned, hearing something skid over a slippery surface, and extended Bloody Berry, lettings it's blade charge up and glow. "He's here."

_SLAM_

A giant mech loomed overhead, overshadowing Ruby and me as it got up with multiple mechanisms clicking into place.

Yang, Weiss, Blake and Evans then joined us afterwards.

"Glad to see you're still with us pal." I smirked

"You think I'm gonna be joining them at The Simple Wok? No way I'm missing this fight." He said, taking out ivory coloured brass knuckles with blue lights on all 4 inner rings. On the end of each knuckle, 4 long cylindrical spikes that contains electrical charged dust glowed fiercely with tenacity and sheer power.

"And what do you think that is gonna do?" Torchwick mocked, firing a missile, causing us to disperse.

"Freezerburn!" Ruby yelled out, as Yang jumped high up in the air.

"Not to give your hopes up." I said, blending into the mist with Evans by my side. "But Torchwick is right. You weapon is melee. What's that gonna do?"

_Shift_

"Checkmate!" Ruby yelled out, cocking the lever on Cresent Rose, while Weiss and Blake charged forwards, attacking it's gargantuan legs with a series of slashes and jabs.

"_Heat Signature... detected..._" A robotic monotone called out from inside, showing Torchwick 2 red outlines from behind one of the pillars. He pressed a button, and in an instant, a missile fired off into the fog, while the others focused on Weiss and Blake.

Weiss then hit one of it's lazer targetting systems on it's left, causing the mech to stagger backwards as Torchwick grit his teeth from inside.

Torchwick then commanded the robot to lift one of it's legs up, planning to crush Blake, only for Weiss to conjure up a white glyph and pull her away.

A barrage of missiles then fired from the mech's backpack, hitting Weiss and barely missing Blake. However, before Weiss was thrown off, she threw a Time Dilation glyph onto Blake, causing her preception of time to slow down around her.

...

...

Yang then got on top of Torchwick, punching a series of explosive dust rounds into the top, causing more damage compared to the rest of it's body, denting the cockpit. The robot then flew backwards, causing Yang to slam unconscious into a pillar, while the mech's right arm whirred and clicked, ready to end Yang's life.

Just then, a sillouethe shot past, grabbing Yang mid air, and darted off into the mist.

"Gah... pests!" Torchwick yelled out, scanning the area for more heat signatures.

_Louis's POV_

"She's gonna be fine... right?" I asked, setting Yang down beside Ruby and Blake, hiding behind a pillar a good distance away from the fight.

"You should've let her take the hit." Ruby muttered. "Her Sembelance is to return hits with twice the output of what is given."

"Hey, don't pin this on me. I didn't know, besides, I've got plan B."

"Plan B?" Blake asked.

I smiled as I charged back into the mist, which is rapidly clearing, and extended Bloody Berry in one hand, and swung it overhead.

"Oh no you don't!" A resounding echo boomed from the oversized mech, and multiple dots appeared on my chest, and missiles fired off it's remaining ports.

I slashed upwards, getting a few missiles to detonate mid air, and then vertically, causing a few more to detonate. Afterwards, I jumped back while the remaining missiles hit the ground. Just then, Bloody Berry's blade turned off as sparks flew out, indicating it's out of power.

"Oh great." I said as I landed, shaking Bloody Berry's handle up and down vigorously.

"What are you even doing?!" Torchwick laughed from inside, causing me to stare at the mech. "Looks like this is where you'll die."

"LOUIS!" Ruby yelled out.

"Stay back!" I said, holding out a hand.

"Sacrificng yourself? How noble." Torchwick mocked, his arm reeling back.

"Nope." I grinned as I saw a sillouethe slip under his mech from behind, with Torchwick being too distracted honing his attention on me . "But I got you right where I want you.."

"What?!" He asked as the mech spun around and scanned the area, relieved when he saw the rest of team RWBY still stayed just like Louis commanded them too.

I hope Evans is right, otherwise, I might just haunt him for life.

"Half circle front half circle back, One Two!"

"What? Was that supposed to be a manual override voice command for this scrap metal or something?" Torchwick laughed as his arm reeled back again, winding up a punch, ready to punch me into smitherieens.

"Raging..." Evans said as he got up, crossing his arms across his chest with an X.

"What the- WHERE?!" Torchwick asked, looking around to see the source of noise. When he realized where it's coming from, it was too late.

"STORM!" Evans yelled, pluging both arms to the ground, causing a huge torrent of electricity in a large radius to burst upwards, with spikes of blue lightning jutting out of the ground afterwards, encasing his whole mech, and rapidly expanded outwards, causing me to jump back.

"What?!" Torchwick exclaimed as all the monitors inside turned red with "EJECT" Written on it. "Impossible! How'd I short circuit?!"

The machine groaned loudly as it's limbs went limp and the lazer targetting systems died down, the lights from it's top shutting off, and it stood as still as a rock.

THUD

_WHAM_

The giant mech then kneeled, and fell face first on the ground with a resounding boom that echoed throughout the streets as debris flew on top of it, encasing the mech with a sheet of dust and gravel.

...

...

"It worked." I let out a relieved sigh, holding my chest.

"Told you it will." Evans grinned, walking up to me as his brass knuckles whirred and clicked as all 4 dust cartridges ejected, while the glowing edges died in power.

"So, it's a one time thing."

"With a maneuver like that? Yeah. But for close range combat? I can go at it for a few hours."

"Nice." I said, giving him a high five.

...

"What... was... that?!" Ruby asked, walking towards us with the rest of team RWBY.

"When did you two spar enough to come up with team attack names?" Yang asked as she got up, raising a brow. "I thought only people in teams do that."

"And what kind of attack name was that? Seemed a little... complicated." Weiss added.

"Not to mention you almost got yourself killed! What were you thinking jumping into his line of fire like that?!" Blake stated.

"It's... I... uhh... Oh look, Torchwick!" I said, pointing towards the orange haired man climbing out of his mech, temporarily breaking team RWBY's attention away from us.

"Don't mind me, just continue chatting around." He said, lighting up his cigar. Yang then fired a shot from Ember Celica, causing Torchwick to hold up both hands, and prepare for the impact.

However, before it connected, Neo jumped down and defended with her parasol, causing Yang's shot to disperse.

"Ladies..." Torchwick smirked, as Neo shielded him from oncomming fire that Yang threw with her gauntlets. "Ice Queen."

"Hey!" Weiss pouted.

"Neo, if you would." He said as Neo bowed down.

Yang grit her teeth, ready to lunge forward and destroy the image, while I just held my hand to her shoulder.

"Fire... there." I pointed at the air, getting her crimson eyes to stare at me, confused.

"What?! But he's... right there!"

"Just do it." I said reasurringly. Yang and the others exchanged uneasy glances for a moment, but then nodded, and obliged. As soon as she fired her gauntlets, Neo's illusion shattered into a thousand pieces while Yang's shot hit the bullhead's open doors, exploding right below it, causing Torchwick to get knocked back unconscious and Neo to stagger and almost fall out of the plane. However... the bullhead regained it's altitude, and flew out as Ruby aimed down Cresent Rose's sights.

"Wait.. but.. he was just there!" Ruby yelled. "How?!"

"Illusion. Neo's Sembelance." I explained. "We did what we could. We managed to do a number on him. Let's head back for now."

"Wait a minute... you never answered our questions..." Weiss squinted her eyes and held up Myrtenaster.

"U-uhhh..." I stuttered, looking around to see that Evans... was nowhere to be seen.

Bastard!

He fled!

I'm on my own in this one.

"Lucky gu-eeeep!" I whimpered, as 4 sillouethes started to make their way onto me, their eyes glowing menacingly in the shadows that covered them as Yang cracked her knuckles.

"You're gonna talk... tell us everything." Yang stated.

Evans you abandoning asshat!

_During the heat of the battle..._

...

"What can that do against a giant mech like that?" I asked.

"I can cause it to short circuit." Evans said. "I've crafted this weapon quite a while ago, before the food fight. I've tested it out. Short circuited Cardin's phone while I was on a trial run. Shocked myself a ton of times too before getting it to work properly. Now I have a chance to test it out on a major scale, and I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste."

"Cardin's phone I can understand but this? How?! It's got a thick metal armour, not to mention is has heat sensors all around. You won't even get close before Torchwick fires a barrage of missiles at you."

As I said that, a red dot appeared on my chest, and soon after, a high pitched whistle followed.

"Case and point!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the way as the ground shattered beneath me and dust and debris fell on my face.

"I just need to get under it!" He said, dodging in the opposite direction, rolling into another pillar.

"Dude! It's not gay porn! You only have one shot at this before he realizes what's happening! Not to mention we just unlocked our auras! It's gonna deplete after 1 hit, or less!"

"Just trust me on this one! I've got this!"

"Alright..." I sighed, knowing Evans wouldn't be giving this up. "What's the plan?"

"You save Yang just as she's about to get hit. That way, she can't charge up, and this won't be an easy battle."

"Are you kidding me?!" I asked with my mouth agape. "What if that arm hits me?!"

"You can always slice it with Bloody Berry can't you?"

"Well, yeah but if it the punch connects!"

"It won't." He reassured. "I won't let it."

I grit my teeth. If Evans says he got this... then I guess I'll have to take his word. He's not the type to risk a pawn if it's not necesarry, and with Bloody Berry, I won't be able to get a fatal hit before it runs out of juice.

"Fine, what's the signal?"

"We need to say something that the people from the show won't know. It can't be a super awesome attack name, that would be too obvious." He said as he thought about something.

"Like...?"

"You remember Geese Howard's combo?"

"Yeah, Half circle front, half circle back one two. Why?"

"That's your part. I'll attack afterwards. Just buy me a bit of time." Evans said as he tapped the dust cartridges, setting them to '_OVERDRIVE_'.

"Woah woah woah, you sure I have enough time to say that before he obliterates me? That's quite a long one."

"You'll manage with Bloody Berry. I know you will." He smiled.

"You'd better know what you're doing." I muttered, charging forward just as Ruby and Blake took off 1 mechanical arm, and Yang rode the mech out like a rodeo.

"Heh, if I'm doing this alone? Maybe I won't be able to pull this off at all, heck, I wouldn't even dream of thinking about this. But with you brother? This will go as smooth as the afternoon breeze." Evan's said as the glow inside his inner rings doubled in intensity.

_Meanwhile... _

_Present_

"They're probably fine right?" Neptune asked Sun.

"Probably." Sun replied, slurping his noodles.

"Hey guys!" A voice called out from behind.

"Evans! How'd it go?" Neptune asked.

"Great! Mind if I join you?"

"Sure but... Where's Louis and the rest?" Sun asked.

"They're... having a team meeting." Evans replied, smirking to himself. "A really... long team meeting."

Sun and Neptune just looked at each other... and shrugged it off while Evan's took a seat in between.


	13. Chapter 13

"So..." Weiss started, whacking Myrtenaster on my bed like a whip, getting me to jolt up. "When did you and Evans... Practice together?"

Play dumb.

"Who's Evans?"

Everybody glared at me.

Not that dumb!

"I... We didn't." I said. It's true, we really didn't.

...

"Oh... Playing hard to get are we?" Yang said, cracking her knuckles.

Gulp.

"I-I swear! We really didn't spar! It was a battle plan we came up with last minute!"

"Impossible! No way someone is that well coordinated if they have no formal Huntsman training." Blake stated. "Especially not with a partner. It takes practice."

Oh now she says it's well coordinated.

Before she deems it an unnecessary sacrifice.

Dodge and distract while the other deals the killing blow?

Really?! You can't do that without formal Hunstman training?!

You have got to be kidding me...

"Not to mention you even came up with team attack names!" Ruby pouted. "Even we don't have team attack names with you because your name isn't a colour! You're supposed to be part of team RWBY! Traitor!" She yelled as Cresent Rose's blade landed in between my legs with a loud thud.

"It's not a team attack name!" I exclaimed. "And we never practiced that! Why don't you girls trust me?!"

"Because you seem to know Evans better then we do... Even though you guys just met in initiation." Yang said, staring sadly to the ground.

"And honestly, we can't help but feel... A little jealous." Weiss admitted. "You've been on this team for a semester and a half now, and whenever we spar, it won't be in sync."

"If you're so well trained with Evans, why don't you just build a team on your own with him in it?!" Ruby yelled as she puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms.

"You seem to be comfortable trusting your life in his hands rather then ours..." Blake added.

Are they...

Legit jealous?

Not 'I wanna be your girlfriend' jealous but 'Why are you cheating on this team with another Team' jealous? Is that even a thing?

"Ruby... Guys, c'mon. It's not like that..."

"Then what is it?!" Yang shouted as she pointed at me and her eyes turned crimson. "Are we not good enough for you? Is that it?!"

"Guys..." I sighed.

How the hell am I supposed to explain that?

Evans and I have been P1 and P2 since forever in co-op games. Whenever it comes to single player games, if one can't get over an obstacle, the other (Most of the time Evans) will usually solve it.

Obviously the opposite is true when it comes to fighting games and we're on opposing sides. We fight most of the time, teasing each other that the latter can't break the win streak, but like any sibling rivalry, there's nothing a good night's of sleep (Or food) couldn't fix.

Of course when it came to real combat, it's mostly based on memory on how to pull such moves. Some combos and moves in fighting games are impossible to do in real life, except the ones based on real life martial arts. Now that we're in Remenant, moves that was impossible are now possible due to stuff like weapons, dust and semblances.

Heck Evans didn't even know if it will work! It's just that he looked so confident in his plan working I decided to roll with it.

...

"I'm.. gonna go..." I said, standing up from my bed, carefully removing myself from Cresent Rose. "I... Need to think. Clear my mind."

"What? Avoiding us again?!" Yang yelled from behind. "We're not finished with you yet!"

"Don't follow me out... otherwise... I'm quitting team RWBY."

Team RWBY staggered backwards at that comment, and stared at me as I opened the doors.

What the hell should I do...? I thought as I closed the doors, and walked down the hallways with my arms crossed and my eyes closed.

I can't reveal that we're from the same world's,

I can't reveal that we knew each other from before the initiation.

I can't wing myself around this either...

I really don't wanna lie more then I have to.

They trust me... And I trust them... And I don't want to break their trust...

I glanced behind me and was glad that team RWBY had respected my wish to isolate myself, and hadn't followed me. I heaved a heavy sigh, and walked up the stairs.

...

_Shift_

After the door closes.

"Ugh, what is with him? I thought we made it clear that we're a team!" Yang yelled, grabbing her head with both hands.

"And I thought we could trust him... What was I thinking?" Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms.

Ruby sighed and plopped onto her bed face first.

"I suck as a leader..." She muttered.

...

...

"Well... All of us have to have secrets hidden away somewhere right?" Blake said.

Everybody glared at Blake.

"Are you seriously taking his side right now?!" Weiss shrieked.

"I'm not! I don't like that he's keeping secrets from us either but... I do understand if he wants to keep this to himself. Just like I did..."

"Why should we trust someone who doesn't trust us back?!" Yang yelled.

"That's the thing... He does trust us. I can feel it. He does trust us with everything he's got, but there are just some stuff he can't tell us. Like..."

"Like...?"

"What if Evans hadn't pulled my bow? I wouldn't reveal to you guys I was part of the White Fang on my own. It's a past I'm not proud of..."

Weiss and Yang stared at each other and asked

"You're saying Louis had a criminal background?"

"I don't know! But he looks like he doesn't wanna talk about it... And we shouldn't force him if he doesn't want to."

"Ugh..." Yang bit her lip. "I guess you're right... We shouldn't be too harsh on him. He did come into Beacon without any training after all. Maybe he cheated in getting into Beacon, those records don't come in cheap."

Weiss sighed as she put a hand to her face. "Well... I don't see a point in dragging this out any further. What were we thinking? We should make it up to him."

"But he won't even listen to any of us now that he's gone..." Ruby muttered.

"One of us should go and talk to him." Blake suggested.

"B-Blake..." Ruby sobbed, getting everybody's gazes to snap at her.

"Ruby...? Why are you... crying?"

"Do you think it's true? Do you think he mean it when he said he would quit our team if we follow him?" She asked as she looked up with puffy eyes, tears rolling down the side of her cheeks, and soaking her pillow.

...

...

_Louis POV_

It's not that I don't want to practice with them for team attacks, it's more like I couldn't keep up. Not with the amount of Grimm they've slain, the amount of practice and training and wit they've been through, I'm clearly outmatched in terms of combat experience.

If I were to start now, I'll just get in the way...

I sighed as I walked out into the roof, and sat on the edge and looked to the skies above.

What should I do...

I don't want it all to go away...

Yet... I don't want to lie...

...

...

"Damnit!" I shouted out as my hand curled into a fist, and slammed it on the concrete I was sitting on.

I heard the door creaked behind me, and I didn't even bother to turn around.

"Sorry." I said. "Jaune, Phyrra, you guys want to use this area to spar right? I'll be taking my leave now..."

The opposite party didn't respond as I heaved a heavy sigh of fustration, and tried to get up, but then a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me down as a red hood flapped against my shoulders.

Wait...

...

Neither Phyrra and Jaune have red cloaks...

"Ruby?" I called out.

"Hm?" She asked as her face leaned on the back of my jacket.

"First of all, you know I haven't washed this jacket in a while right? And second...What are you doing?" I asked, not bothering to look back.

"Comforting you." She answered.

"Why? Don't you all hate me?"

"Louis we don't... hate you... we're just..." She hesitated and bit her lip.

"Tired of me being secretive? Fustrated that I seemed more in sync with someone else other then the team?"

"Yeah..." She admitted as she took a seat beside me, kicking her legs through the air. "Why?"

"I... can't tell you... any of you the reasons why. I wish I could."

"You could trust your team. Everybody can keep a secret... well... except Yang I guess."

I chuckled as I looked at Ruby.

"It's not that." I answered after calming down, staring into the skies once more. "But if I tell you, others may suffer greatly. I'm sure you don't want that..."

Ruby sighed and continued to kick her legs in the air, and then joined me in looking at the stars.

...

"Here." I said, taking off my jacket and wrapping it around Ruby. "You must be cold."

"Well I don't have my sister's Sembelance to keep me warm..." Ruby admitted. "Thanks..."

"No problem." I said, and resumed looking to the skies.

...

...

"Well, if you're not gonna tell us your secret, I'm gonna start with mine." Ruby suddenly said out of the blue.

What

"Ruby?"

"I don't care if you tell the others or not. I just want to show how much I trust you."

"Like I said... it has nothing to do with trust."

"I know."

...

"Okay." I sighed as I stared at the broken moon. "Shoot."

"My mom..." Ruby started.

...

"Summer Rose... if I recall correctly?"

"Y-yeah..." She stuttered, pulling her feet up from the edge and hugging them.

Here we go again

I could never have gotten over how the Red trailer had started.

It saddens me when I saw Summer's grave.

Not to mention it's always repeated in Volume 1's intro.

All aboard the feels train.

"Ruby... I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Must be hard on you and Yang..."

"I just... I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute. Couldn't bear another day without her in it. All of the joy that I had known for all my life was stripped away from me the minute that she died." Ruby then started to tear up.

Wait... Is this...?

It can't be...

Must be my imagination... right?

"To have her in my life was all I ever wanted but now without her, I'm a soul forever haunted. Can't help but feel that I had taken her for granted, and no way in hell that I can ever comprehend that."

Yeah, I'm not imagining it. Red Like Roses 2... why is she telling me this?

"I wasn't dreaming when they told me she was gone. I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong. How could she leave me when she swore that she would stay?  
Now I'm stuck inside a nightmare every single... e-every s-s-single..."

"It's okay... Let it out..." I said, wrapping a hand around her shoulder as she put both hands to her face as she cried.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"I-I've been penting it up for so... so long. I tried to act happy, I tried to be a good leader. But you just proved to me I'm not... I couldn't even prevent you from leaving... twice."

"I never left." I said, wrapping her in a hug. "I'm still here..."

"But you will eventually!" She yelled louder then she should've, staring at me in the eye as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You even threatened to leave a few minutes ago!"

"Ruby... I'm not gonna leave this team. Not now, not ever. That was just an empty threat so that you girls won't follow me. I really needed some time on my own to think about things. Where I went wrong. Self reflection all that stuff."

"Ruby..." I sighed. "What's your point? Why are you telling me all this? What does me leaving have to do with your mom?"

"Point is..." She said, cheeks red and eyes puffy from crying. "You're family. Team RWBY... is family. Losing you... any of team RWBY... makes me feel like losing my mom all over again."

Oh god I'm a dick.

I've been so selfish on my thoughts, I sort of just spat that out as a natural reflex.

I never thought how it would affect the team... how it would affect Ruby...

"Ruby..." I said, ruffling her hair. "Come on. You really think I'm gonna leave?"

"Y-yes..."

"Do you really really believe that deep down?"

"Y-y-no..."

"I've gone through a semester and a half with you girls. It's been the most wonderful time spent in my entire life."

"R-really?"

"Yeah really. You're a great leader Ruby. And you'll go far. If you never stop moving, if you keep moving forward." I smiled.

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah. Tell you what? Since you let me in on your secret, I'll let you in on mine."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Don't tell Yang about it."

"Uhh... okay..."

...

"I lied when I said I can't talk to the dead." I whispered in her ear, causing her face to turn pale.

"Don't worry." I chuckled. "I'll relay the message from Summer right now... okay?"

"Uh... okay..." She said, though she was trembling in fear, so I had to calm her down by putting my hands on hers to stop the shaking.

In an instant, the temperature around me dropped way below freezing while I sense a presence emerge from behind me while a white cloak flapped on my shoulders. My vision blurred for a bit and suddenly whispers aroused in my ears humming and singing Summer's part of Red like Roses part 2 as my eyes widened and my mouth remained agape. Chills and goosebumps travelled down my spine as I tried to speak out.

I didn't dare to look back...

"U-uh... Ruby..."

"Yes?"

"Is it... cold?"

"Well... not anymore now that I have your jacket... why? And why is your face pale?"

Fuck

"Do you... Is there someone behind me?"

"Uh... no... just the view of Ozpin's office... why?"

"Nothing."

Double Fuck

She's behind me isn't she?

Welp, a promise is a promise.

The last thing I need is a ghost of a grieving mother to 2 grieving daughters haunting me as I try to change the plot for the better.

"Summer says... I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness. You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness  
Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute. Make you understand the reasons why I d-did it..."

"M-mom...?"

If she could stop whispering constantly in my ear! That'll be great!

I memorize the lyrics thank you very much!

The cold is definitely bothering me anyways!

"I w-wanna tell you that you're all that ever m-mattered. Want you to know that for eternity I'm shattered  
I tried so hard just to protect you but I failed to. A-And in a prison of abandonment I've jailed you..."

...

...

...

Once I finished the interchange, the temperature rose again to normal, and the hood lifted from my shoulders. The air became breathable again, and I turned around to see that Summer's apparition... was gone. I heaved a sigh of relief as I held a hand to my chest while cold sweat rolled down the side of my face, soaking both my chest and my back.

And that's the last time I'm singing Red like Roses ever...

"W-wow... that's what mom says?"

"Yeah..." I said, face covered in sweat. "She loves you... a lot..."

"So... I can talk to her when I want to?"

"Uhh no... we just got lucky. Take contacting the dead like a one time thing..." It's not that I don't want to, but to have the air sucked out of my lungs like that? I would rather not be possesed, even if Summer has no ill intentions.

"O-oh..."

"Look on the bright side Rubes... You managed to talk to her, and she managed to tell you how she feels about it..."

"Yeah...

wow...

Mom..." She said with a small smile.

"Thanks Louis."

"No problem... And you're a great leader and a great friend okay? Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise."

"Okay..." She yawned.

...

...

...

It soon turned midnight

I felt a head on my shoulder to see that Ruby had finally gave in to exhaustion.

I brushed the hair from her face as I smiled, and figured it was time to head back and apologize.

I shouldn't tell them everything... but at least what I could do is try and spar with them. Though I should warn them that I might be a bit of a slow learner...

I hefted Ruby up by her legs and her back, and carried her back inside.

_Later..._

"Where are they?" A muffled voice echoed through the doors and made it into the hallways. "It's getting late..."

"Ruby has never gone out this late... should we look for her?"

"Yang calm down... I'm sure they're fine."

"Relax, your sister carries around a giant schyte. They're gonna be fine."

...

I knocked 3 times with my knee and Yang rushed to open the door.

"Louis! Ruby!" Yang shouted, relieved with a smile across her face. "You're both okay!"

"Yeah... look... I wanted to apologize..." I started, looking apologetic as I looked into the room to see Weiss and Blake both had relieved expressions on their faces.

However... that didn't last long as they stared at who I was carrying, and their expressions turned into fear.

"Uhh... Louis..." Blake started.

"I would worry about yourself first if I were you." Weiss finished, pointing at Ruby.

What did they mean by that?

"Wait a minute... Louis... Ruby..." Yang squinted her eyes which darted between me and Ruby.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Your jacket is wrapped around her while you're covered in sweat... "

Uh oh

"Yang... it's not what it looks like..."

"You didn't do what I think you did... did you...?

She isn't naked under your jacket... is she?!"

Fuck

She's not listening

Not again

"Yang... I didn't do anything to Ruby, I swear!"

"And here I thought I was just about to forgive you for earlier... No wonder you've been out for so long..." She took a step with a thundering boom, cracking her knuckles. "You have an aura now don't you? That means..."

"Nope! see ya!" I shouted as I threw Ruby into Yang's arms, and fled down the hallways.

"COME BACK HERE! HOW DARE YOU TAKE AWAY RUBY'S INNOCENCE?! IM GONNA BEAT YOU TO A PULP!" Yang shouted behind me.


	14. Chapter 14

"...and the winner is.. Phyrra Nikos." Glynda announced.

"Yeah, sure and his name is John Cena?" I whispered in Evans's ear, getting him to snicker.

"Come to think of it, Cardin does look the part." Evans admitted after calming down.

Currently we are seated a row in front of Team RWBY, who, even though still team jealous, allowed me to bond with Evans since I kept my end of the deal by sparring with them every day. Ruby is incredibly fast, the amount of attempts it took for me to adapt to her speed was excruciating. Weiss was rutheless, but it was expected since she grew up with high standards. Blake decided to cut me some slack, and it was relatively easier to adjust to her dual wielding combat style compared to the others. Yang's close range combat with hands was definitely something that needs some getting used to.

Improvement was slow... but hey, it's better then nothing.

Considering I have no combat experience prior? This was a great start.

"Well done Ms Nikos, you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

"Thank you Miss Goodwitch."

"Alright I know that was a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more match... Any volunteers?"

...

With Sun and her team supporting her, Blake was still crazy about the White Fang investigation, but not as much as before. She was getting enough rest to easily support her grades and her health, even if she sometimes does go overboard, I'm able to convince her that rest is important. In other words, Sun dragging her to the dance will be a breeze.

Or... I can use the lazer pointer to lure her to the multi purpose hall, if it comes to it.

"I'll do it." A silver haired boy stood up.

"Mercury... is it? Let's find you an opponent..." Glynda said, tapping her oversized scroll.

"Actually, I would like to fi-"

"Let me be your opponent." Evans said confidently.

"Actually... I would rather fight Phyrra Nikos." Mercury clarified while he threw a dirty glare at Evans, definitely unhappy to have been cut short, then looked towards Glynda.

"I'm afraid Ms Nikos had just finished a match. Evans, Mercury please make your way down to the sparring arena."

Both Emerald and Mercury snapped their glares to Evans, and after a while, their expressions softened, then looked at each other, and shrugged.

I shot him a glare beside him as he got up, as I engaged in a silent conversation as he cracked his neck.

'What are you doing?!'

'We can't let him figure out how Phyrra's Sembelance works. That way, they won't be able to rig the Vytal matches for Phyrra and Penny.'

'But he's a trained assasin! Don't do anything stupid.'

Evans then grinned.

'I'm thinking stupid... Yet memorable.'

'You're not planning to do what I think you're planning to do... right?'

'Watch me...' He smirked, giving me a thumbs up.

'Oh boy, here we go...'

...

I burried my face in both hands as Evans waltzed confidently to the arena while whistling a happy tune.

After seeing my instant reaction, Team RWBY gave me concerned looks, going up to the seats beside me.

"Louis... what's wrong?" Ruby asked as she sat down.

"This could go either bad... or really bad..." I muttered.

"What do you mean? It's just a sparring match!" Yang said, trying to cheer me up. "Plus, we have Glynda the Pro huntress as a referee in case things go overboard."

"Besides, from how we saw Evans fight, he'll be fine on his own." Weiss assured.

We didn't really see him... fight. I thought with a deadpanned expression on my face. We just saw him pull one big move while I caused a distraction...

Evans is alone in that ring, he needs time to set Raging Storm up and Mercury is too fast for that... He's fast enough to stop Ruby from bursting into rose petals...

This match was clearly unbalanced. It's Mercury's victory before it even started.

So if he's gonna do what I think he's gonna do...

...

"Are both fighters ready?" Glynda asked, raising her crop.

"Fight!"

"So... you're Mercury Black." Evans smirked, staying in place and putting both hands in his pockets as Mercury raised both fists and readied himself.

"Evans... if I recall? What kind of colour of a name is that?" He asked.

"It's the name which should linger in your mind for a while. I'll make this fight as memorable for you as it is for me."

"I've been through many fights." He replied, still encirciling Evans at the stage, wondering wether or not to engage. "Quite a ton of them actually. What's to say... I won't be forgetting this one?"

"I'll bet you 200 lien on it."

Mercury's eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks, honing his eyes on Evans.

"200 Lien? That's a lot of money. Alright then... I'll take you up on it. I could use a little extra cha ching."

"Then it's a done deal." Evans said, taking out his ivory brass knuckles.

...

I kept my eye to Evans who 'readied himself' as he stood upright, with both hands behind his back and a cocky grin on his face.

"What... is he doing?" Yang asked. "That's not how a brawler should stand... he should be hunched."

"Yeah... " Ruby squinted her eyes.

Those knuckle dusters of his?

They're not his real weapons.

They're just there for show. An accessory, if you will.

His real weapon... Is...

his trash talking mouth.

"Mercury Black... son of Marcus Black." Evans said in a mocking tone, his voice dropping to almost a whisper, small enough to be out of Glynda's earshot, but loud enough for Mercury to hear clearly.

"What did you just say?!" Mercury asked as he grit his teeth, ignoring Emerald's eye widening and frantic hand signals to warn him not to go overboard.

She might not have heard what Evans had said, due to the force field encasing the arena having noise dampeners, but she knew Mercury well enough to tell when he's legit pissed.

"So... you know who I am..." Mercury said, slightly crouching and ready to charge.

"I know you're just a little boy who loves to live in his father's shadow."

"THAT'S IT!" Mercury shouted, and charged at Evans, who sidestepped, causing Mercury to topple and lose balance.

"What... was that?!" Weiss asked. "He is way off balance."

His rage has clouded his judgement...

"Oh, look at me... I'm Mercury! I can't live without daddy!" Evans mocked.

"SHUT UP!" Mercury shouted as he got up, quickly closing the distance between them, eyes full of bloodlust.

Emerald frantically opened her scroll, trying to contact Cinder as fast as she could while panic filled her face.

Mercury charged again, quickly closing the gap between them, and charged with a flying kick. His feet was met with Evans's ivory brass knuckles, who managed to take most of the momentum away... However, it still sent him skidding backwards quite a distance in the arena.

Evan's aura only went down a little, still in the green, about 90%.

"Whew, quite a kick for someone who just recently learned to walk on twos. I'm sure your father still have pictures of then... Right? Mind if I have a copy?"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Mercury spun around, delivering a roundhouse kick.

A hard and devastating kick then connected on Evan's left, who managed to block with both hands, but it still send him flying to the wall on the side, and cracking it, causing a permanent crater the size of an Ursa.

Team RWBY looked in horror to see that Evan's aura bar... was immidiately orange. 25% to be exact.

"Miss Goodwitch stop the match!" Ruby yelled out, while she held out her hand.

"Miss Rose, please sit down. You know the rules, 15% and they're out."

"Did you not just see what happened?!" Yang shrieked. "One more hit and he's gonna get hurt!"

"Miss Xiao Long, I will be the one to determine if Evans is knocked out, please sit down."

"Yang, Ruby" I said. "Please, just sit."

"But..."

"Isn't that your friend over there?!" Weiss yelled.

"Don't you care for him as much as you care for us?" Blake asked.

"Yes, now sit. All of you." I commanded with a cold tone.

Team RWBY just looked at each other uneasily but eventually obeyed, snapping their gazes back to the fight.

"Evans isn't suicidal." I explained. "He won't be doing this if he doesn't know what he's doing."

_Evans's POV_

I have no idea what I'm doing.

Man I never thought Mercury can land a kick that hard, he never did in the show.

Even with my aura softening the blow, it felt like there wasn't an aura there to protect me in the first place.

I thought he was all about speed. Never knew he had such strength behind those kicks.

"Had enough?" Mercury asked through heavy, fustrated breaths, clenching his fists.

Fuck it, I'm too deep to stop.

"Did your dad drop you as a baby? Is that why your kicks are so soft?"

"You asked for this..." Mercury grit his teeth, walking up to Evans, feet reeled back high to deliver a painful blow to the gut, ready to end this fight.

_Louis's POV_

My eyes widened as Mercury's left foot started to rotate backwards, going as high as a 45 degree angle.

A normal foot doing this? I wouldn't be too worried.

A mechanical foot? Atlas Tech?

Yikes

"I forefit." Evans said just as the foot was about to deliver the blow.

"What?!" Mercury hissed.

"Enough!" Glynda announced as Evans put both hands to the ground, panting hard. Mercury grit his teeth and clenched his fists, and advanced closer to Evans.

"Mercury Black, did you not hear what I said? Stand down!" Glynda said, raising her crop, ready to levitate Mercury to stop him in his tracks.

"Loud and clear." He said, stopping only inches away from Evans's face, and squatting down to meet his eyes.

"Heh..." Evans said weakly. "Told you I'd make it memorable."

"You have my attention." Mercury scowled, and threw 200 lien on his face. "A deal is a deal."

He then walked off to Emerald, who had her mouth agape with her scroll in her hands the whole fight.

After a few minutes, I walked down the stairs to help Evans up.

"You alright man?" I asked, hefting him up by the shoulder.

"My aura took most of the blow... but I'll be okay." He said, holding his side.

"Jesus what did you say to him in order for him to get pissed like that?" I asked, raising my brow.

"You... didn't listen?"

"The force field has noise dampeners, no I didn't."

"I talked about him living under his father's shadow."

"Oh."

"What did you think I said?"

"About how he has a cyborg micropenis."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind the next time we fight." Evans chuckled. "Besides, objective completed. They got their eyes on me now, not Phyrra."

"You mad bastard."

"By the way..."

"Hm?"

"Isn't it time for..."

"Oh, and before I forget, The dance is next week!" Glynda announced as the crowd started to disperse.

"Oh right, the dance." I remembered.

"Yeah, now's the perfect time to build Arkos up."

"Hmm, how do we do this?"

"I'll take Phyrra you take Jaune?"

"You sure?" I asked, raising my brow.

"After that Tunafest you're painted as the good guy, remember?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, let's just say I'm gonna be brutally honest and straightforward with Phyrra, so that she can grow some balls. Besides, I'm technically still in character, and I don't think team RWBY had talked to team JNPR about it yet."

"She's a girl, she's not supposed to have balls."

"You know what I mean."

...

"Don't be too harsh, you don't want to lose your virginity to Phyrra's spear rifle do you?"

"Relax, I got this."

"Alright man." I sighed, knowing he would be better off getting killed by Mercury.

_Back at Team RWBY's dorms_

"So... Uh... Louis." Ruby said. "The dance is next week. Do you... Have a dance partner yet?"

"Well... yeah no duh... of course." Yang replied for me with a smile. "With the amount of calls he's gotten? I'm sure there's a lot of people that can take you to the dance. We'll allow it if you decide not to return on that night by the way."

"Ugh... Damnit Yang." I mumbled.

"You do sleepovers at other people's places?" Ruby asked.

God... She's so sweet... So innocent.

"You can say that." I said, glaring at Yang, who smirked in return. "How about you Blake? I'm sure you're gonna take a break from the whole White Fang investigation thing right?"

"I'm going with Sun, you don't have to remind me daddy..." Blake rolled her eyes.

Cough

Cough

In Remenant, that means nothing.

On earth...

"Uh... okay good to know you understand." I said as I looked to the floor and my cheeks heat up.

"Louis... why are you blushing?" Blake asked, confused. "Was it something I said?"

Yes

"No."

"So... I heard that Yang and Weiss has the pleasure of arranging it."

"Yeah!" Yang said, fist bumping the air. "We'll make sure everybody will be having a blast out there!"

"I'll make sure it's up to standard." Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Oh great, that's Jaune. Right on time.

"I'll get-" Weiss said, but was cut off as I slipped in front.

"I'll do it." I assured as I cracked a small gap in the door, and slipped out.

"Jaune." I greeted.

"Hey Louis. Is Weiss in there?" He asked as he held onto his guitar.

"No," I lied. " actually... are you free now?" I asked as I closed the doors. "I need to talk to you."

"If it's about giving Weiss up, I'm not listening." He said confidently and shook his head in a cartoony way, getting me to chuckle.

"It's not exactly about that, but I would be lying if I didn't say that isn't part of it." I admitted as I strolled down the hallways.

"Tell you what, if I can't change your mind by the time we get back, I won't bother you about this anymore and you can pretend this talk never happened."

That was enough for Jaune to oblige, and walk up beside me.

"I'm a man who believes in dreams Jaune. I wouldn't go against you if you wanted to date my roomate. Weiss is beautiful, smart a heiress to the Schnee Dust company. Her voice is excellent, she looks perfect in every way possible."

"I thought you were supposed to be against me?" Jaune asked, raising a brow. "Or are you telling me this because you're competition?"

"Fuck no." I laughed. "A bit too bitchy for my tastes. Like I said, I'm not taking sides. In the end, the choice of 'the one' is completely up to you."

"Alright, I'm all ears." He sighed as we went out to the courtyards. The sun was just about to touch the horizon, which means I have about 30 minutes to convince him before he trains with Phyrra.

"I hope so.

Have you ever... I don't know, looked around for other options other then Weiss?"

"What makes you say that? You just admitted she's perfect."

"Well, it's just that... sometimes, once you think you've found an ideal partner, you tend to have tunnel vision you know."

"Well if I like her then why not?"

"Cuz then you tend to rule out other options, and people who want to have a chance with you... never get the chance."

Jaune halted in his tracks, and let that sink in.

"You think... someone has a crush on me?"

"Jaune." I chuckled as I put my hand on his shoulder pauldron. "I know someone has a crush on you. We all do."

"Impossible... I would've noticed by now."

"Well her hints are subtle." I admitted. "And you are dense. You won't notice it at first glance. But once you do a double take..."

"Can you please just tell me who?" He pleaded.

"That one, I'll let you figure out on your own." I smiled, as I saw the sun had already half set, and headed back inside. "So, if you would stop being so dense, and look around... maybe you'll notice her and give that person a chance?"

"Would I happen to know this person?"

"Jaune..."

"Okay, silly question. But really, who could it be?" He closed his eyes and put a hand to his chin.

"You'll figure it out. I know you will." I finished, stopping in front of my dorm. "So, we're here. Like I said, I won't be stopping you if you're still aiming for Weiss, but I hope telling you that opened your eyes."

"Will I be able to find this person before the dance?"

"That, is completely up to you, but I will tell you this." I said. "She's close to you, figuratively speaking."

"O...kay, that narrows it down a bit."

"That narrows it down a lot Jaune." I said, waved him farewell.

"Hey Jaune."

"Yeah?"

"Was that hole there in your wall when we left?"

"Huh?" He asked, spinning around. "What the... I don't think so..."

"Oh well, just ask Ozpin to patch it up." I shrugged and opened the doors to my room, walking in.

"Who was it?" Weiss asked, looking up from her textbook.

"Oh, a secret admirer. Bummer, had to turn her down for the dance."

Yang's eyes lit up. If she was a cat faunus like Blake is, I'm sure her ears would've twitched.

Yang yelled. "So you have someone else in mind?"

"Nah, I'm single."

"What?! Then why'd you decline?! You should've accepted." Yang pouted, crossing her arms. "As your sister figure, I refuse to let you go dateless."

Okay, time to channel my inner Evans.

If only I could record this, and show him later...

"Come on Yang, is this why you can't find your date? Too busy trying to find some for others?"

"OOOOOO." Ruby laughed. "He got you good sis."

Yang's eye twitched as she gave me a twisted smile. "O-okay... you got me there."

"How is it to be on the recieving end?" I smiled innocently.

"Grrrh... tell you what, if you can find a date, I'll buy you..."

"Pass."

"You didn't even hear what I have to say!"

"Nope, cuz I know I'll win that bet." I smirked.

"Thats it!" Yang's eyes turned crimson and stormed across the room, while I laughed as we played cat and mouse.

I wonder how Evans is doing...

_About an hour ago..._

_Evans's POV_

I knocked on team JNPR's door and was greeted by Jaune who bumped into my shoulder with the guitar on hand.

"Ah! Sorry Evans! I was in a rush."

I didn't respond, and just hardened my expression, causing Jaune to panic and scurry off as he carried papers that had music notes and lyrics on it.

I peered inside the room and saw a certain red haired girl, who was cooling down from combat class.

Ren and Nora are nowhere to be seen.

Perfect.

"Phyrra?"

"Yes? Oh Evans. You okay from that match?"

"Still walking." I replied. "have a few minutes?"

"Well, I have to be back by sundown."

"To train Jaune right? I know."

Her eyes widened as her mouth remained where it left off and asked. "How did you..?"

"How else is he improving so fast?"

...

"Alright, I guess I can be a bit late..." Phyrra mumbled and walked out the doors. "So... what is this about?" She asked, raising her brow.

...

...

"Have you ever fucked anyone?"

In an instant, a spear shot into the wall beside me, missing me by a few inches, and I was slammed on the wall beside it, lifted up by Phyrra's forearm on my neck.

"If this is an invitation... and you think of blackmailing me... I'm not interested." She growled.

Off to a great start

"Please." Evans rolled his eyes. "You're too smart for aphrodisiacs in the first place, and I think you're smarter then to take anything I give you."

Phyrra sighed as an audience started to gather at the corridors, and put Evan's down and walked alongside him, strolling down the hallways.

"So... what is this about?" She asked with a hardened glare.

"Well, I'm asking if you've ever slept with anybody before. Because it's obvious that you want to sleep with Jaune."

Phyrra's expression suddenly changed from cold... to flustered in seconds.

"W-what?" She coughed. "W-where did you get that idea?"

"Bitch please, it's written all over your face."

"I-i-is it that obvious?"

"If it's obvious to Cardin and the boys, it's definitely obvious to everybody... except the man himself."

She sighed as she halted in her tracks. "So you've noticed as well... he is dense."

"Yeah, he is."

"Your point?"

"Well, I know you're gonna train tonight, so tell him."

She heaved another heavy sigh and clenched her fists.

"I...can't... he has Weiss."

"And you're gonna let him?"

"If he's gonna be happy then..."

"If that's your call." I shrugged. "My advice? Get up close and personal. Be honest with him tonight, and I'm sure he'll get the point."

"Wait... why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me at all?"

"Isn't it obvious? So that I can tease you about it afterwards. I'm sure that'll make you happier though." I smirked and waved and walked off. "Hope I'm not keeping you from showering before training, by the way."

Phyrra glanced at her watch, and panicked as she slammed the doors behind her.

Just then, Jaune reappeared in front of Team RWBY's room.

"Oh, hey Evans, you looking for somebody?"

I didn't even glance and walked off into the corner as I heard the door creak open.

"Jaune." Louis's voice echoed in the hallway.

Whew, that went better then expected.

I'm not dead.

_Later... that night._

"What were you thinking losing control like that?!" Cinder shrieked.

"He knows my past." Mercury replied calmly as he read his comicbook. "No student should know assasins... escpecially not high ranking assasins like my dad."

"Don't change the subject!" Cinder shouted.

"My dad is not an easy man to find. Especially not under the thousands of alias's he's gone under." Mercury continued, ignoring Cinder completely. "You think he's one of them?"

Cinder and Emerald looked at each other as they realized what Mercury is implying.

"We can't tell for sure until Psycho Smile implants the virus." Cinder said, finally calming down. "If he doesn't have a Sembelance, then he's confirmed to be one of them."

"One of them?" Emerald asked, raising a brow. "You think there's more?"

"Psycho Smile was on their side until Torchwick used his brain scrambler. There's no telling how many there are for sure, since he was unable to recall the people he came here with."

"So... no names, no identity, no number." Mercury confirmed. "Why do we have him again?"


	15. Chapter 15

_Phyrra's POV_

I stared up at the starry night skies and the view of the shattered moon that eminated light onto my skin, casting a long shadow that reached the only exit.

It was beauitful.

I sighed as I sat down on the edge of the roof, putting down my spear and shield to the cold, concrete floor beside me, and waited for Jaune.

...

Vrrrr

Hm? Oh... it's Evans...

I wonder what he wants now...

"Jaune's unusually late tonight." I sighed to myself after checking the time on my scroll.

Probably asking Weiss out...

I unlocked my scroll to check out what Evans has to say.

Probably another incentive, a little push to help me get over my fears.

_"If you manage to score yourself a Jaune and come together on dance night, I'll wear a dress."_

I was right.

I chuckled at the thought. My imagination wandered off to see Evans in such a ridiculous outfit.

Nah, he's probably bullshitting around.

Why is he trying to hard? I can never tell.

I have a little more respect for the guy though.

Even when held at knife point, he didn't beg, he didn't flee.

He was a fighter till the end.

He's definitely manlier then Cardin and the rest of his gang.

I heard the door creak open and without turning around, I greeted the man whom I was supposed to start sparring with 10 minutes ago.

"Jaune."

He didn't answer.

"Jaune?" I asked again.

"Hm? Oh uhh... Phyyra, sorry I'm late."

"It's okay." I replied, still looking to the starless night skies above.

"Are you mad?"

"No... I just... have some things on my mind that's all."

"Does such things include me being late?"

"No Jaune, it does not." I giggled.

...

...

"I need to ask you something."

"Sure, you can ask me anything. You know that."

...

...

"It's a dumb question, but it's one that has been lingering in my mind for the past few minutes... Actually, it might be the reason why I'm late in the first place"

"Okay?"

...

...

"Alright, here it goes." Jaune said, taking a deep breath.

"Do you think... that someone has a crush on me?"

My eyes widened as I got up to my feet, spun back and saw Jaune with his arms crossed and eyes on the floor, appearing deep in thought.

Oh my god, this can't be happening.

Has he finally realized?!

"M-maybe..." I admitted while my cheeks started to heat up. "W-what makes you suddenly say that?"

"Well I... I had a talk... with Louis just now. He said that... someone has a crush on me, that I'm too dense to notice."

You are.

It can't be a coincidence right?

Evans talking to me and Louis talking to Jaune at the same time?

No no no, I should be concentrating on what to say instead of what other people said.

"O-oh? What else did he say?"

"He also said this certain someone gave subtle hints, that I need to take a second look and..." He stopped when he finally decided to look up.

"Wait... why are you blushing?"

"I-I-I u-uh..." I stammered.

My mind was racing,

there was butterflies in my stomach

My hands were trembling,

and my cheeks were as red as my hair.

Jaune's eyes widened in realization.

"Don't tell me... it's-"

Well, now might be a good time to try out Evans's tip on being straightforward instead of denying it.

"Yes Jaune..." I mumbled as my eyes darted to the floor below, unable to look into his. "That someone... is me."

...

...

_One Week Later..._

"Oh you look beautiful!" Yang exclaimed in her white dress.

"Can we please have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" Ruby asked as she wobbled inside the multi purpose hall with her own red and black dress, struggling to maintain stability with her heels, getting Yang to put her hands to her mouth and laugh.

...

...

_Louis's POV_

"Yo, am I early?" I asked as I approached Yang at the reception counter, walking in to classical and slow music playing with a low volume, clearly outmatched by the chattering between a few talking to themselves on the dance floor.

"No, you're right on time." Yang replied. "The others are just fashionably late."

"Oh, that's good to know." I smiled as I walked up to the counter.

"Uhh, Louis?" Yang asked, noticing the buldge in my pocket, and pointing at it.

"Hm?"

"Is that..."

"Bloody Berry, yeah."

"Oh..."

"What did you think it was?"

"A toy."

...

...

"Why would I have a- nevermind. Don't answer that." I said when I saw a smirk forming on her face.

"Aww you're no fun!"

"Not tonight Yang... not tonight."

...

"What did you bring it to the dance for though?" Yang asked, raising a brow.

"Precaution."

"Oh come on, this is a dance. What is someone gonna do? Snoop around the CCT towers while we're having a good time?"

...

...

Yes Yang, exactly that.

She was so accurate, I struggled to keep a straight face.

"It's compactable anyways, just like Ember Celica, which you could play off as jewellery, so I don't see a problem."

"With a buldge like that? It looks like you dislocated your dick, or have a second one sewed onto you."

I shuddered at the thought of what Yang had just said, and saw Ruby talking with Ozpin at the far end of the room. No wonder she could run her mouth as much as she'd like.

I decided to just wave it off, and registered my name on the papers while I waited for other members of my team to join in.

Evans was nowhere to be seen.

A few minutes later... Blake was next to walk in with Sun, arm in arm.

Her outfit was not the same. It was completely different and she was...

Gorgeous.

She wore a low cut blackless gown, which revealed a lot of her pale, flawless skin. Her obsidian heels sparkled in the strobe lights while her amber eyes shined like stars throughout the night, which complimented both her golden earings and necklace which was in a shape of a cat. Her hair was slightly curled, hanging around her shoulders while the rest dropped to her back.

Sun on the other hand... decided to keep it rustic with the same dark gray button up T shirt with the first 3 buttons unbuttoned, showing his muscular packs, while he loosely wore a white tie (Probably because he couldn't tie a tie.)

They look like the two most mismatched couples in Remenant.

"Uhhh..." I wandered.

"Uhhhh..." Yang wandered.

Blake rolled her eyes, and then glared at her boyfriend. "See, I told you you should've gone with the tuxedo."

"Hey, I told you, I grew up in Vacuo. Rustic's my charm."

"Oh well." Yang shrugged off. "Have fun you two." She winked. "I'm sure he's 'Rustic' in bed too."

Blake blushed at that coment, with Sun following up as he scratched the back of his head, then they walked off into the dance floor.

"You just had to." I deadpanned at Yang's Illiac eyes, who gave off another shrug while whistling innocently.

...

I then felt a tug on my elbow and looked down to see a chest height Ruby who was timidly struggling to get the words out.

"H-hey uh... Louis, wanna dance?" She asked.

...

Wait... isn't she the one who isn't comfortable with what she wears?

I thought she hated those heels, and that dress.

She looked good in it though.

From the looks on her face, she really isn't comfortable with this.

So... why is she trying to ask me to dance?

Ruby looked to the ground shyly and shuffled uncomfortably as she waited for my answer, and I didn't have the heart to decline her.

"Uh... Think of it as a father daughter thing." I looked to Yang for confirmation, and after a moment of thought, she just randomly shrugged it off in return.

If I had eyes on the back of my head however, I'm sure those illiac eyes are glued at us all the way as we walked off.

...

...

I escorted Ruby to the dance floor, where she put one hand on my shoulder, and I put mine on her waist.

"I could tell you're not used to this." I smiled as I looked into those silver eyes.

"Is it that obvious?" Ruby asked, immidiately looking down and blushing and unable to meet my gaze. "I'm not really much of a fancy panzy... dancy girl."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not much of a dancer either, so we're even." Well except that one time at the bachelor party... But we never talk about that... ever...

"Relax, I'll catch you if you fall." I whispered, getting a small whimper in return as I started to sway side to side.

"Stupid stilts..." She complained.

"Yeah, I'm not used to formal shoes either." I admitted. "Takes a bit getting used to on first try."

...

"Louis... thank you."

"Hm? For what?"

"You really didn't wanna dance with me do you?"

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?"

"Yang."

"Right. But I would've still accepted, if it's from you."

"B-but why?"

"It's the least I could do for my supreme leader." Not Kim Jong Un.

"Supreme? That's a bit of a stretch." She giggled.

"Okay, might be exagerrating with that one, but you're a great leader."

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do." I smiled.

"Thanks..." She said shyly, leaning in on my chest, and smiling as she closed her eyes.

...

...

"Hey Ruby..."

"Hm?"

"Looks like you owe me 20 lien." I said, stopping in my tracks, and pointing towards the door as a certain blonde man and red haired woman walked in.

"No... no way!" Ruby gasped as she saw what I was pointing at.

Jaune and Phyrra then walked in, wearing a tuxedo and a red dress respectively, arm in arm as they walked up to Yang.

"You wanna go meet the new couple?" I smirked.

"If this doesn't make school headlines, I'm gonna be so mad." Ruby pouted, fumbling to take out her scroll.

...

"So, I see that you've finally noticed." I teased, leaning in on the counter with one elbow.

"I can't write their names this way y'know." Yang deadpanned, making me stand up straight.

"Right... sorry." I chuckled, scratching the back of my head.

"Y-yeah... thanks... for everything." Jaune smiled nervously. "I don't think I would've noticed if we didn't have that talk."

"So, what did it take for you to get together?" I asked.

"Other then your little chat, me and Evans... had one too." Phyrra said. "It wasn't the most... pleasant of conversations... but it got the job done."

Way to go Evans!

...

...

Wait... didn't he say he was going to be brutally honest?

Oh my...

I just hope I don't find you in a bodybag in team JNPR's closet...

"Oh? Now you piqued my interest." I smiled as I saw Phyrra and Jaune's cheeks both started to go red.

"I wanna know who started it. Or more specifically, how it ended." Yang wiggled her eyebrows, and everybody's glared at her in response. (Expect Ruby)

"Took you long enough." I scowled. "The wait was killing me."

"Us." Ruby added. "All of us."

"Okay sorry! Her hints were so subtle I couldn't help but brush past them." Jaune admitted, getting a soft punch to the shoulder.

"Alright lovebirds, have fun." I chuckled as I saw them waltzed off to join the crowd.

...

The party went on for a while, the punch was sweet and amazing. I talked to some of the students that I never met before and then looked around to see Weiss... fixing the flower vase.

Oh... right.

Without Jaune to encounter Neptune, I'm gonna have to take his place.

I walked up to him as he was making funny faces, entertaining Blake and Sun, tapped him in the shoulders, and whispered in his ear "Got five?"

...

...

"Thanks Louis... you're a cool guy."

"No prob, go on, tell her how you feel."

"How about you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, raising a brow.

I thought the conversation was supposed to end there.

Did I say something out of place?

"You... aren't gonna tell Ruby how you feel?"

Cough

Cough

"That was just a friendly dance between leader and teammate. No personal feelings involved."

"Oh... okay. But she seems to really like you."

...

...

...

"Go back inside and ask Weiss out before I change my mind and throw you off the balcony." I said with a cold stare.

That was enough incentive for Neptune to give me a nervous laugh, and scurried downstairs.

Alright, everything is set. Now... I should go call Evans and see what he's up to, I haven't seen him yet tonight.

He's missing out.

Beep...

Hmm... maybe it's because he doesn't wanna face Mercury?

Beep...

Be-

"Yeah?"

"You're alive?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Phyrra."

"Meh, it wasn't that bad. I was just... almost impaled, that's all, no big deal."

"Riiiight..." I said in a deadpanned tone.

"Where are you? You're missing the dance."

"I'm... actually here."

"Wait... what?!" I asked. "I haven't seen you."

"I just arrived."

A chorus of laughter then erupted from below, and through the speakers on my phone.

Don't tell me...

It can't be right?

"You're not here in a dress are you?"

...

"Hey, somebody had to take Jaune's place." He shrugged from the other side of the screen.

I roared with laughter as I held on to the railing for support. After a few minutes, I managed to get some words through.

"W-where did you even find one?" I wiped the tears from my eyes, slamming my fists on the railing.

"Nora lent it to me. Just get down here and dance with me will ya? I can't do this on my own."

"Who's gonna be our other 2 partners? Do you even memorize the dance choreography?"

"Ren and Nora agreed to help me practice, and said they would join in. Ren was rutheless in training me though... I know you have it memorized in the back of your head, I walked into your room once where you're practicing it."

He wasn't wrong. I liked that dance scene, it was one of the most memorable moments in the series.

Though... I'm sure it was because Jaune was in a dress.

"So... you're in a dress for... what exactly? You're not an exhibitionist are you? Or am I looking to a side of you I've never seen before?"

"I knew you persuaded Jaune the same day I did, so, for further... persuasion, I made a bet that night, the night they were supposed to spar. The same one Jaune was supposed to bet with Phyrra, only... change 'no date' to 'get A date'."

"You have balls of steel my friend. Alright, I'm on my way down." I chuckled, as I shut off the call.

...

"Evans..." Phyrra laughed hard, wiping a tear from her eye with Jaune by her side. "You didn't actually have to..."

"Hey, a man never goes back on his word." He smiled.

"Louis, you're right on time." he announced as he saw me walking down the steps, chuckling.

"You look ridiculous. Let's just hope nobody is here with cameras."

"A bit too late for that." Evans shrugged, gesturing to everbody around, who had their scrolls out, snapping pictures of Evans, no doubt to be on the school headlines.

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Nora asked me, Ren in hand. "Or are you gonna dance?!"

...

...

_Later_

"It appears all the dancers have partners." Emerald said, overlooking the crowd.

"That includes our little seer." Mercury added, glaring down at Evans, who seemed to be chatting with Louis about something.

"How long do I have?" A low voice grumbled.

"You should probably be home by midnight to be safe." Cinder said over the intercoms.

"The CCT computers have a clock feature to them... right?"

"Use your scroll you dimwit!" Cinder growled.

"Lol... right... I forgot I have that with me." The voice grunted, and the call shut off.

"Ugh... think he can pull it off?" Mercury asked, rolling his eyes.

"He should be able to. Besides, he won't speak of us even when interogatted. We made sure of that." Cinder nodded.

_Louis's POV_

"Something is wrong." I said after managing to find a noisy place to zone us out in the crowd.

"Yeah... why is Cinder with them?" Evans asked. "Wasn't she supposed to..."

"Yeah... which means..."

"Someone else is doing it."

...

"You blend in. Mercury has his eyes on you."

"Where are you going?"

"Gonna convince Ruby to find our little hacker."

"Alright, good luck brother." He walked off into the punch bowl.

...

...

I then found Ruby in the middle of the crowd, who was doing a sister to sister dance with Yang, though... Ruby seemed to be struggling maintaining her balance.

"Hey Ruby." I yelled over the loud music.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Let's get out of here!"

Yang's eyes immidiately blinked crimson when she overheard what I said, and started storming towards me, ready to pick me up by the collar.

That's when I noticed my mistake in word selection.

"I mean... Let's go grab some fresh air, and not into our dorms!" I corrected myself loud and clear.

...

Yang wasn't buying it.

"Or hotels!"

...

Yang breathed out and crossed her arms, and put an arm around my shoulder as she whispered in my ear. "Don't you even think about it."

"I told you." I whispered back in hers. "She's not my type. Relax."

I waved off as Yang pouting with her arms crossed and her eyes were transitioning back to illiac, and made my way out.

...

...

"Yes Louis? What is this about?" Ruby asked with a serious look once we managed to get into the courtyard.

"You noticed." I sighed.

"With that look on your face? I'm surprised nobody hasn't." She shrugged. "So... what is it?"

I looked around, making sure that there is nobody else here so that I don't cause a commotion, and dropped my voice down to a whisper.

"Look, I'm gonna be honest. I got some intel that someone is gonna hack the CCT towers tonight."

"What?! ... who?"

"I don't know yet..."

Just as I finished my sentence, a streak of dark purple was caught in the corner of my eye as I crouched down and pointed Ruby in said direction.

"Purple hood." I growled.

"WHAT?! Why is he here in Beacon?!" Ruby gasped as she clicked the 4 digits in her scroll, and a locker shot to the ground in front of her.

"I don't know..." I murmured. "But we need to stop him."

Ruby nodded, and grabbed Cresent Rose from her locker.

I don't know who this or how dangerous he is.

But from the looks on how he's struggling to maintain balance on the roofs...

He's from either from earth... or has no form of training in acrobatics.

"Louis... Louis!" Ruby shook me, getting me to snap out of my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You go and tell Professor Ozpin, I'll stop him myself."

"What?! Are you crazy? We don't even know what he's capable of!"

"We have more of a chance of catching him if there is a Pro Hunstman on our side."

Can't deny that logic.

But...

"Ugh... fine, but wait for us!" I said as I headed back inside.

_Ruby's POV_

If anything... I don't want you to get hurt in case things get messy. I thought as Louis headed back and mingled with the crowd.

Yes you might have improved in speed and power in terms of training... but you're years away from being our level.

I don't want you getting hurt...

Alright purple hood... what are you gonna do?

Once Louis is out of my sights, I burst into rose petals, and headed in the direction of the CCT tower.

...

...

I gasped as I saw a guard knocked out cold, and set him up against the wall.

Louis was right.

How did he know about this?

I shook off my thoughts as I opened the doors to the elevator, and plumes of white smoke covered me as I heard a small hissing noise from behind, slowly dissapating through the only enterance as I walked inside.

The visibility was horrible, but through the mist I managed to see more guards knocked out.

All of the sudden I fell to my knees, and coughed uncontrollably.

What kind of gas is this?!

I've never seen dust used in gas form before...

And even if it is, what kind of dust emits white smoke?

It causes my eyes to tear up, and I can't breathe!

My lungs feel like they're on fire!

Not... good...

My vision suddenly turned blurry as I clicked on the button to go up, and set myself against the elevator doors.

Please hurry...

_Ding_

Only when I got in, and the elevator doors closed, was I able to breathe again.

That was horrifying!

Who would invent such a thing?!

Now's not the time... I have to-

_Ding_

The elevator opened up, and I saw a sillouethe of a purple hood at the far end overviewing Beacon through the glass panels.

Suddenly, my legs feel like jelly while my arms felt like lead, and I didn't have the strength to be able to swing Cresent Rose anymore.

I quickly transformed Cresent Rose into it's compactable form to avoid attention.

My eyes started to tear up, and I started hyperventillating.

To avoid him discovering me, I quickly ducked behind the central monitors, and almost tripped, thanks to these damn heels!

"Huh?" I heard, then his footsteps came closer...

and closer...

I quickly put my hand to my mouth, to avoid being discovered, even though my lungs were burning and were in dire need of air.

Right as he was about to go around the corner where I was,

"Must be my imagination." he shrugged off, as the elevator doors closed, and took a seat.

Without anybody there, the man with the purple hood then connected his scroll to the main monitor, and booted the computer, typing furiously into the keyboard.

"Huh... it's a bit quiet, and I have time before the upload completes... " He said as he tapped on a button, and loud music started to play from the central computers, and blared through the speakers, breaking the silence throughout the night.

_" ... I am the tallest of mountains. I am the roughest of waves I am the toughest of terrors I am the darkest of days. I'm the last one that's standing..."_

...

What kind of music is this?

It's nothing I've ever heard before, and I consider myself a huge music fan...

Wait... why am I concentrating on the music?!

I should be concentrating on how to deal with him!

...

...

I want to stop him right now but... but I can't stop crying and I feel... so... weak.

Why?

There's nothing emotional about this moment.

I'm not afraid to die so... why

Why can't I stop tearing up?!

...

...

Gah!

This sucks.

I should've listened to Louis and handled this together...

...

No... if he was here with me, the results would've been the same.

In fact, he would've been here incapitated with me...

I don't want that...

All I could do, is hope that Louis and Professor Ozpin finds a way to avoid the gas downstairs.

Because right now...

I can't do anything.

Nothing at all.

_Louis's POV_

I thought we were gonna apprehend him together.

What the hell are you thinking Ruby?! I thought as I ran towards the CCT towers.

I didn't even have time to find Ozpin before I looked back to see you burst into rose petals and run off!

...

...

I opened the doors and immidiately covered both my eyes and my nose with my tuxedo as the white smoke envelopped me.

I stumbled inside and a canister clattered as I kicked it to the wall.

Tear gas?!

He's from earth alright!

God...I hope I'm not too late.

I then pressed the elevator buttons to go up as I held my breath, and hoped for the best.

Ruby... please be okay...

_Ruby's POV_

Does he not get tired of putting it on replay?!

This is the 7th time the same song has been repeated... should I come out and apprehend him?

...

I still feel weak from the effects of the gas downstairs... but maybe if I'm fast enough...

I don't even know what he's capable of...

but I'm a huntress... I won't let him have his way! Even if it kills me!

That's what being a huntress is all about.

Yang...Blake...Weiss...

Dad...

...

Louis...

...

In an instant, the song abruptly stopped and I heard him grunt.

The lights on the monitor switched off as I heard him clamber and scurry off somewhere into the corner of the room.

"What... happened?" I asked myself as my mind started to cloud and my vision started to blur... then the elevator doors dinged open, and Louis came out with Bloody Berry extended, and his eyes locked to mine.

"What were you thinking?!" he shrieked.

_Louis's POV_

"You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I had it." Ruby said weakly, her eyes red and puffy.

"Sure you do, you could barely stand and he's not here anymore!"

"What?!" She shouted, then tried to get up, and coughed virgorously as she tripped on her heels, dropping Cresent Rose by her side with a loud clatter.

Before she touched the ground, I swooped to her direction and grabbed by the waist, and slung her arm over my shoulder as my other arm hefted her up by her legs.

"Told you I'd catch you if you fall." I muttered.

"So you did..." She smiled weakly, and passed out.

"The tear gas downstairs... She inhaled too much of it..." I mumbled as I got back into the elevator, and pressed the button to go down.

No doubt Remenant doesn't have such a brutal chemical weapon invented yet...

She doesn't know how to avoid it, let alone deal with it.

I just hope, with the amount she inhaled, there isn't any permanent damage done to her lungs...


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N **

**2k views? Dayum that was fast. Thank you guys for reading!**

"Not good... she's stopped breathing." I panted heavily as I sprinted towards team RWBY's dorms with Ruby in my arms.

Seriously, the med bay is closed at this hour?

What were they thinking?!

What if somebody sprains their ankle in a dance?! They'll have to make it to take a ship to town to go to a clinic there?

Ugh... no use moping in it now. The best I can do is take her to the room and...

...

I soon arrived at the dorms, all drenched in sweat from head to toe.

The hallways are dark... and silent.

The dance was still going on in full swing, and nobody has made it back yet.

...

Once I reached upstairs, I struggled to take out my scroll from my pocket, since only my left hand was free while I walked with heavy breaths.

Suddenly I froze as low moans poured into the hallways and made its way to my ears.

Lights were visible from under team RWBY's dorm room and the source of the moans... was from inside.

I shook of the thoughts.

Now's not the time.

If there was help in there, then it's better then having to do this on my own.

I tapped my scroll and the door clicked open, while the sounds abruptly stopped and frantic rustling could be heard.

There was no time to waste, and I kicked down the doors to see...

Here we have... a Sun Wukong and Blake Belladona... in their natural habitat...

Watch, as the Sun Wukong applies dominance over the Blake Belladona, swiftly taking the position on top as the Blake Belladona is weak and vulnerable, apparently, such a Sun Wukong is the apex predator tonight, the top of the food chain, and such a Blake Belladona was no exception on the menu.

The Blake Belladona gave up, amber eyes drained of all hope and life, only wishing for a swift death as her eyes snapped to mine.

"LOUIS!" Blake shrieked, throwing a pillow at me at bullet speed as she tried to cover her breasts with her arm as her cheeks went ablaze that burnt firey red.

I let it hit me, for all it's worth, and shot back an unamused glare as the pillow dropped to the floor.

"Usually, I would be in the wrong here, but listen to me-"

"We thought nobody's gonna be back for an hour or so." Sun muttered and blushed as he sat up, not even attempting to cover such an elephant trunk. How did Blake even manage to take that in?

"Now's not the time. Do you see me blushing?" I asked in a dead serious tone.

"Wait... why is Ruby... I'm not up for a foursome." Blake huffed as she desperately tried to wrap her sheets around her pale body while her cheeks burnt brillianty, only for it to keep falling and unwrapping itself since her panicked mind was unable to even tie a simple knot.

"I am." Sun winked, getting a hard punch to his left shoulder which knocked him back on her bed.

I rolled my eyes "She's not even legal, I don't have time for this, just help me prep my bed, Now!" I ordered.

"Are you serious? You're just gonna walk in on us an-" Sun complained, but was cut off as he met my dead cold stare that seemed to penetrate his soul. "Okay, we'll just do what you ask." He said, putting both arms up in defeat. He then looked over to Blake, who shrugged in response.

All attempts to cover their private parts were forgotten once they grasped a hold of how serious this was, seeing Ruby isn't waking up at all, and both faunus's were fast in excecuting my request.

I kicked the doors behind me closed and made sure it was locked, as in lock locked, No teamates can access it with their scrolls locked.

Judging from the clothes and underwear that laid on the floor, they were probably in such a hurry to get in on, that they forgot that that function exists.

"I'm sorry I walked in on you, for all it's worth, but this is more important. She's not breathing." I said, setting Ruby down gently on my bed.

"What... happened?" Blake asked, her arms tucked under her breasts as she saw their unconscious leader on Louis's bed.

"Purple hood happened." I growled, checking for a pulse.

"Purple hood?! He was here?" Sun yelled.

"Yes Sun, he was here." I replied, slightly lifting Ruby's head up so that her neck rests on my pillow. "She's alive."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Blake asked, biting down on her lip.

I hope so...

I leaned down and put my ear to her nose.

She still wasn't breathing...

Not good...

I then used one hand to push both of her cheeks so that her mouth is wide open, while I pinched her nose shut with one hand.

I took a deep breath as I dove in sideways, and blew into her mouth.

I repeated the actions a couple more times before I laid my ears on her chest.

No response.

I put both hands on Ruby's chest, and started to pump up and down in a steady pace.

Both Blake and Sun were wise enough to not interupt what I was doing, though from the puzzled looks they had on their faces, to them it looked like some sort of voodoo magic which they had no knowledge about.

I then tilted her head up again, and repeated the actions of blowing into her mouth, and pushed down consistently on her chest.

...

After a few minutes to repetitive actions of blowing and pushing, Ruby then suddenly got up, putting a hand to her mouth as she harshly coughed out remains of the tear gas.

Oh thank god...

"Ruby! You're okay!" I claimed with a small smile, patting her back to help her cough out the remaining gas.

"Why'd you... kiss her?" Blake asked, raising a brow with a concerned tone.

"Wait... kissing her actually worked?" Sun asked, throwing his arms up.

Great

Apparently the World of Remenant doesn't have CPR either.

"What do you guys do when someone is drowning? To get the water out?"

Blake looked at Sun, then both shrugged.

"We don't. If they have water in their lungs, then they're pretty much done for."

"Yeah, we can't rush them to the hospital on time, and even if we did, Atlas Tech can't pump the water out." Blake confirmed.

I feel bad for all the children who can't swim in Remenant now...

...

"Ugh... feel... dizzy... why does my mouth taste like fruit punch and a slight tinge of coffee?" She asked as she held her head and looked to the right and gazed into my eyes, as I put on a relieved smile.

"Louis?... Why are we in Team RWBY's dorms?"

And then...

She scanned the scenery, and slowly rotated her head to the left.

I cupped both hands around her head right on time, blocking her peripheral vision and focusing her sights on me.

"Uhhh.. Louis?" She asked, while her cheeks started to turn as red as her hood. "What's going on? I thought you told Yang we weren't supposed to be here. Are we alone in this room?"

And only then, did my cheeks start to burn as I remember the two faunus's doing carnal activities of pure lust before we arrived.

"Oh sure, now he blushes." Blake rolled her eyes, and covered her body with the sheets on her bed that lay unused.

"Blake? Why is Louis preventing me from looking at you?"

"It's nothing Ruby... just... give us a few minutes..."

I can't let her see those two right now! She's too young for this shit!

I motioned with my head for them (Escpecially Sun) to put on something... anything at all.

Both Blake and Sun understood and nodded, and shuffled to grab what they had left on the floor, prior to these events unfolding.

"Us? Who else is in the room with us? I hear noises behind me." Ruby said.

"Just wait for a while, it won't be long." I reassured, all while keeping eye contact with Ruby, who kept looking down.

"You feeling alright?" I asked with a smile.

"Been better... just very dizzy."

"That's good." I said. "I was able to get most of it out, but you should go see the doctor tommorow just in case."

"What do you mea... PURPLE HOOD!" She screamed, getting up and almost breaking free of my grasp, making me jump up with her to prevent her from seeing Sun, who aparently left his underwear under the door, which got caught as I kicked it open, and was currently struggling to yank it out.

"He got away before we managed to apprehend him." I sighed as we sat back down. "You inhaled a chemical that you shouldn't have."

"The white smoke..." She muttered.

"Tear gas." I explained. "A horryfying weapon. Irritates both your eyes and your lungs to the extent of causing blindness and respiratory problems. You're lucky to have just passed out, and from the looks of it, your eyes have mostly recovered, they're not bloodshot anymore."

"I've never seen it before."

"Neither have I." Blake said, as she finished putting on her black lingerine.

It's commonly used in riot control. Thank god Remenant hasn't invented it yet... otherwise I would imagine Blake would've been blinded or worse, taking part in those faunus equality crowds when she was younger.

"How did you manage to get it out?"

"I-"

"He kissed you." Sun smirked, getting me to glare at the monkey faunus as he finished buttoning his shirt.

Ruby's cheeks burnt brilliantly as it matched the colour of her hood, and her eye kept darting back and forth on the bed, unable to meet mine.

"I-is it true?" She stammered.

"Technically speaking, yes, actually, no." I sighed.

I then saw both faunus's fully dressed up, and released my grip on Ruby's head, only for her to spin around to Blake's direction, and touch her lips with her fingertips.

"You just had to." I deadpanned as I look to Sun, who was scratching the back of his head.

"Basically what I did was breathe into your lungs really hard, so that the tear gas that remains inside will be expelled out."

"I-I see..." Ruby said, still feeling her lips.

Okay... this was not gonna sit well with Yang, not at all...

"What matters is that you're safe now." I sighed, as I got up from my bed, and walked to the door. "I'll go grab a drink for you. You two want any?" I offered.

"I would rather drink from Blake's-" Sun chuckled, but was cut off by an elbow to the gut.

"We'll have water." Blake smiled.

"Three bottles of water, coming up." I said, as I walked out the door in the direction of the vending machine.

_The morning after..._

"Louis." Ozpin greeted, as the elevator doors beeped open. "Miss Rose."

"Sorry it took so long." Ruby said. "Someone accidentally hit all the buttons in the elevator... it wasn't me."

I rolled my eyes and stared at her.

"Okay.. maybe it was me." She admitted, drawing a circle with her foot.

"Forgive Ruby, she's just a curious little soul." I said, taking a bow towards the authoritical figures in the room.

"It's okay. Ruby, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." She scratched the back of her head.

"I hope we're not interupting." I said, looking over to the 2 other figures that were in his office.

"Not at all. This is General Ironwood." He introduced us to the chisled face man with a usually cold stare, but his face softened and offered his hand for me to shake.

"General." I greeted back as I shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied. "Can you recall what happened last night? I managed to get there as soon as I could, after most of the gas had dissapated."

"Was anyone else with him? Did he look familiar to you at all?" Glynda asked.

"I... I don't know." Ruby shrugged. "He was wearing a mask and a purple hood. He didn't really seemed like much of a fighter."

...

"Okay, how about you Louis?" Ozpin gestured. "Do you have anything to add?"

"Nothing much." I answered. "I dove in to find Ruby sprawled on the floor, with her weapon by her side."

"How is it that you were able to avoid the white smoke while Miss Rose was not?"

"Oh that? Just cover your eyes and hold your breath. It was done on instinct. Ruby on the other hand might have been a bit too ambitious, and didn't think the gas had paralyzing effects, not having encountered it before."

"I... see." Ozpin said, rubbing his nose ridge.

"What I think you did was brave." General Ironwood said, confronting Ruby.

Or reckless...

"You saw a threat, and took action-"

"Actually uh, sir, it was Louis who saw the threat coming from a mile away. I could have never spotted Purple Hood without him." She said, looking up to me.

All 3 figures gaze snapped to mine, and I nodded in response.

"It was only natural for such an assault to occur at the time where everybody is letting their guards down." I said. "Thus I was able to notice as I walked out the doors. Coincidentally, Ruby was there beside me."

Ruby just shot me a puzzled look, but decided to play along.

"Anything else to add?" Ozpin asked.

"I believe that Purple Hood is connected to the White Fang and Torchwick, and I think they said something about setting up in the east." I claimed.

"What?" Glynda asked.

"And on what evidence do you base this on?" Ironwood asked, raising his brow.

"Purple Hood grumbled about it before he left."

Ruby's brow was just raised higher as she looked at me, who winked in return.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"How about missions?" Ruby asked.

"Due to your... illness, first missions for team RWBY has been postponed, and to be resumed 3 days from now." Ozpin said.

"Illness?" Ruby asked.

"Mr Louis told us in advance that you inhaled quite the amount of the unknown substance. Even if you're feeling well enough to walk, it would be a risk to send you and your team out there, only for you to pass out mid fight."

"Oh..." Ruby said, looking down.

"And I believe that you wouldn't fancy the idea of your team doing missions without their leader, even though with Mr Louis it does count as 4."

"No... I wouldn't like that at all." Ruby admitted.

"Very well." Ozpin said, sipping his mug. "You both are dismissed. Ms Rose, Mr Louis, Please try and be discreet about this matter."

"Thank you for your time." I waved off, walking into the elevator with Ruby.

"You told them?!" Ruby yelled once the elevator doors closed.

"It's for your own good." I shrugged. "You need time to recover. Don't wanna cough out tear gas while you're speeding in rose petals and stumble out and get surrounded by Grimm now do you?"

"I...I guess." Ruby said, with a defeated expression. "Ugh this sucks..."

"I've been through worse." I shrugged.

"I thought you said he wasn't there when you saved me?" Ruby asked as the elevator made its way down.

"He wasn't." I smiled.

_Later, at Team RWBY's dorms,_

3 girls zipped to the doors as soon as it opened, being only inches away from both me and Ruby's faces.

"What happened?!" Yang asked immidiately.

"Well Louis and I uh... ehehe..." Ruby muttered.

...

...

"That was a risky move Louis." Weiss said.

"No, I think you handled it well." Blake said.

"I hope so." I sighed, making my way to my bed. "By the way Blake, you might want to get up on your bunk before the floor is lava to you in a few minutes."

The 3 girls just exchanged confused looks, and then Blake asked me. "Why would the floor be lava to me?"

"Consider yourself warned." I shrugged, and started stretch.

I didn't have much rest last night, escpecially due to Blake's amber eyes staring at me, a faint yellow glow that burnt like embers throughout the night, or the fact that Ruby kept shuffling in her bed and making noises like giggling.

I'm sure Blake will get over the fact in about a week or so, seeing that she did understand the fact that I didn't do that on purpose, and Ruby was indeed in a critical condition.

...

"Oh, by the way, Dad sent us a package..." Yang said, prompting Ruby to get jittery and excited.

...

...

...

As I was bending to stretch my hands to my feet, my face suddenly slammed onto my bed as Blake used me as leverage to get to her bunk.

"Warned you." I mumbled as I got up, rubbing my nose.

"How was I supposed to know there was a dog in the mail?!"

"Gee Blake, I don't know." I shrugged. "I thought faunus's have a keen sense of smell and hearing they could use to track stuff that's, oh I don't know? In the room?"

Blake's eye rolled up while she held out one finger to try and come up with an explaination but... in the end, decided to remain quiet.

"Thought so." I said, sitting on my bed as Zwei kept jumping up and down on the foot of Blake's bunk.

"Zwei, sit." I commanded strictly, while Zwei obeyed as he turned around to meet my gaze.

...

"No way!" Yang complained. "He doesn't even obey me!"

"Maybe it's because it's you." I chuckled, picking him up and putting him on my lap.

"What Yang was trying to say is... he usually doesn't obey strangers." Ruby said in disbelief, eyeing me stroking Zwei's belly. "How are you able to command him on first try without any problems? Even I take 2 or 3 tries for him to usually get it..."

"Cesar Millan."

"Who?" Weiss asked, raising a brow.

Right... Remenant. Not earth...

"I had a dog back at home, lasted almost about a decade." I explained.

"Oh, that explains a lot." Ruby said.

"Applied intensive and strict training, so she usually obeys most of my commands. Obviously some stuff are too complicated, but eventually I got the hang of it."

"Oh, is that how you commanded Blake and Sun last night?" Ruby asked.

Fuck.

"Uhh..." Yang said. "What is she talking about?"

Blake's amber eyes snapped to mine while both our faces turned pale.

"N-nothing." Blake said.

"What do you mean nothing?" Ruby asked, raising a brow. "The 4 of us were in the same room last night. Me, you, Louis and Sun."

Gulp

Ruby, please shut up

"I...I see." Yang's eyes twitched while Weiss took a step back. "And what were you all doing?"

"Me and Sun were helping Louis make up his bed." Blake said, still crouched in her bunk.

"Which I woke up in!" Ruby remembered.

Damnit Ruby!

"You..." Yang muttered while gritting her teeth as her hair glowed and her eyes turned crimson.

"Hey... wait... Yang!" I said, holding out both hands. "It was Purple Hood okay?!"

She unclenched her fists but kept her cold stare on me as she crossed her arms.

Good, at least she was willing to listen.

That was definitely an improvement.

I then proceeded to tell them all the events that had transpired last night, including what Ozpin said about Ruby's condition. Of course, I left out the details of kissing Ruby and what Blake and Sun were doing and was instead replaced with 'I contacted them for help.'

I looked to Ruby and saw that she put both arms behind her back while she blushed furiously, indicating that even she wasn't dumb enough to say that aloud to her sister.

I looked at Blake's bunk to see if that was a good enough excuse, and a small smile with a nod confirmed it.

"But why Blake and Sun?" Yang asked. "I'm her big sister. You should've contacted me."

"Both you and Weiss were enjoying the party remember? With loud music like that? There's no guarantee that you guys will pick up your scrolls and read the message. I'd figured since I saw Blake and Sun leaving first, they're my best bet."

"I... see." Weiss said, holding a hand to her chin. "It does make sense. Ruby was in a critical condition after all."

"Ugh." Yang rolled her eyes as it turned back to illiac. "Fine. But next time, make sure to inform the whole team afterwards."

"Will do." I sighed in relief, looking at Blake who gave me a slight nod in response.

"So... Blake." Yang said with a wide grin. "Where did you and Sun go after leaving early?"

Welp

I looked over to Blake as our eyes engaged in a silent conversation.

'Good luck.'

'What?! Help me out!'

'Alright, I'll bust you out of this one, but if she questions you any further, you're on your own. It'll make it look like we did have that foursome Sun was talking about, or that we did something shady together if I help you out in talking.'

'Fine.' She rolled her eyes.

"By the way guys." I said, stretching as I got up, causing Zwei to pounce on the floor. "Isn't it time for lunch? Let's go grab a bite."

"Oh, right!" Ruby exclaimed. "Let's go for lunch team!"

Ruby then didn't wait, and burst out the doors in rose petals, while me and Blake followed shortly after, leaving Yang with her mouth agape and Weiss to sigh and smile.

Whew, that was close.

_At Lunch..._

Currently Team RWBY was at the cafeteria having lunch alone, since team JNPR and the rest of the other teams already went for their missions.

"Sorry guys." Ruby said timidly as she played with her food. "It's my fault we don't get to go on a mission today."

"It's okay." Blake said. "You need rest, escpecially after last night."

"Agreed." I said. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't possibly knew he had tear gas in his arsenal. Even with Team RWBY there to back you up, unless somebody has detoxification as their Sembelance, I'm sure the results would've been the same." I said, looking at everybody's faces, who were looking down at their food.

"But let's get down to business." I said in a serious tone. "Sure, we might not be able to go on a mission today, but we could at least try to figure out, from the information we have, who he is."

"Purple Hood." Ruby muttered, gritting her teeth. "I couldn't stop him..."

"We couldn't Ruby. Not you." I said, rubbing her back.

"What does he want?... why was he here last night?"

_Ruby's POV_

"Do you remember anything else about him? I know you told Glynda and Ozpin what you know, but I'm asking you if there is anything more you remember." Louis asked.

"He did speak a little... his voice was... slightly high pitched for a man, though from there, we can't pinpoint his age."

"True."

"He was listening to this weird music. Nothing I've ever heard of before, and I consider myself a huge music fan."

"Weird?" Louis asked. "Can you maybe hum out a tune or describe the lyrics?"

"Can I." I rolled my eyes. "That guy had it on replay for the whole time I was unable to move."

Everybody just exchanged uneasy looks, wondering if Purple Hood did know of Ruby's position, and decided to put the music on for torturing Ruby instead.

"It starts off weird, with a loud squeaking and someone saying 'I can make that edgier'."

...

"Okay..."

"Then, when the music starts, it was something about being the _tallest of mountains... the roughest of waves... the toughest of terrors, the darkest of days._" I hummed.

"Weird... I don't know the lyrics either." Yang said, closing her eyes, thinking hard. "Not even the tune sounds familiar."

"Nothing I've heard of before." Blake admitted.

"Me neither." Weiss said.

That's when I noticed Louis's face turn pale.

"Are you... okay?"

"I-I am... g-go on..." Louis trembled.

I wasn't convinced that he was okay, but I continued anways.

"The chorus goes something like... _When everything you know has come and gone. You are at your lowest, I am rising higher. Only scars remain of who I was. What I find in the ashes, you lose in the fire! When there's no one left to carry on. This is an illusion, open up your eyes and... The pain persist I can't resist. But that's what it takes-_"

"to be Infinite." Louis finished as he suddenly stood up.

"_So look around you and tell me what you really_\- wait... you know that song?"

Louis didn't answer, and marched out of the cafeteria, slamming the doors shut behind him.

"What... the dust... was that?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"He obviously knows it." Weiss scoffed.

"But why isn't he telling us?"

"Maybe he knows purple hood?" Blake suggested, as all gazes snapped to her.

"Hmm.. it's a possibility." Weiss said, holding a hand to her chin. "We don't know much about his background, and he seemed to know Evans pre entering Beacon."

"A friend that's now a foe?" Yang questioned, raising a brow. "Damn... that's harsh."

"I just hope when it comes to it... he chooses us over him." Blake muttered.

"He won't chose him." I cheered.

"How can you be so sure?" Weiss asked.

"Uhh... Just a hunch... or a lucky guess." I lowered my voice and mimicked Louis, poking my tounge out, getting giggles and chuckles from everybody around.

Huh...

Now that I think about it, the song...

Its actually... Very catchy.

_A few minutes ago_

_Louis's POV_

'..._I can make that edgier_'."

Does the word edge even exist in Remenant?

Might just be a coincidence...

"Okay..." I replied.

...

"Weird... I don't know the lyrics either, not even the tune sounds familiar.." Yang said, closing her eyes.

"Nothing I've heard of before." Blake admitted.

"Me neither." Weiss said.

Wait...

No way it's him...

It can't be...

"Are you... okay?" Ruby asked with a concerned tone.

"I-I am... g-go on..." I replied, as cold sweat started to form on my forehead.

But if she's right...

...

"..._The pain persist I can't resist. But that's what it takes-_"

"To be infinite." I finished.

I didn't even wait to hear what she or the rest had to say and walked out out of cafeteria.

No.

No.

No!

NO!

Out of anybody? Why him?!

I jabbed my scroll at Evans's contact.

Beep...

Bee-

"Louis? What's up?"

"Evans... it's him."

"Who? Why are you breathing so heavily? Everything alright?"

"No! Purple hood is D."

"WHAT?! Which one?"

"Edge Lord D."

"Are you sure?"

"Ruby just confirmed it when she encountered him last night."

"D..."

Derrick...


	17. Chapter 17

"How sure are you that Purple Hood is Derrick?" Evans asked.

Currently, me and Evans are arguing the possibility that Purple Hood may be someone else behind the bushes where nobody can see us, but I stand true to my words.

"100%" I replied. "Ruby can recall Infinite's lyrics almost perfectly."

"It could've been anybody who played Infinite. Anybody from earth could've done it. Remember we may not be the only ones who got teleported here."

"Evans... He played Infinite 7 times in a row... and he could've played more had I not been there to rescue Ruby."

"Grrh..." Evans bit his lip.

"And Ruby also said she heard a loud squeaking, possibly a chair being spun around, before someone says _'I can make that edgier'_."

"Little V's cover...

Youtube to MP3 Converter...

He was never one to buy songs, covers, soundtracks, or originals."

"Yeah..." I agreed. "it's him."

"I... I just wished your assumption was wrong, I just... didn't want you to be right." Evans slammed his hand to the bricks beside him. I'm sure he wasn't thinking wether he had his aura activated or not, not that it mattered, I felt like doing the same.

"Trust me, the feelings are mutual." I sighed and grit my teeth.

Derrick was many things...

He was the edgiest man we know, a slightly hunched, stubby man whom always wore black shirts no matter where we go, no matter in what condition we're in. It would probably have a skull, red stripes, or both printed in the front. He had decently long hair, though it was straight instead of curly, and always wore a black beanie on top, while he kept his goatee short and untrimmed.

He's the kind of guy who's attempt to looking cool would put Neptune and Mercury's look like child's play.

Now that he was currently our enemy, it was bad.

Bad? That was an understatement.

He was one hell of a Lore freak. Wether it was a show or a game, he would've gone to the wiki page, and spent at least a day to read every single character description, who they are, their backstories and all that crud. Once that first step was finished, he will re watch the show or re play the game at least 10 times before going to the fan theories, and afterwards, watch every single Youtuber who reviews the show or game.

He was the type of guy who would get the cheat codes before he buys the game, the type that would max out his pokemon team before facing the elite four.

If he had spare time in between, he would go to fanfiction sites and search for interesting theories, being so invested in it that he would refuse meals or even dehydrate himself for it.

It's a miracle his head hasn't exploded yet from overinformation, sometimes getting mixed of what is canon or not.

Derrick was many things, but evil was not one of them.

"What do you think we should do?" I asked. "We can't beat him in this, you know how he is.."

"Ugh..." Evans muttered. "I would confront him, ask him questions like why... but where do we even find him?"

"Sure dude, as if Cinder and the crew isn't keeping a close eye on their only accurate foreteller." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be helpful and give you suggestions. You got any other ideas?" He asked as he raised a brow, clearly offended.

...

"Sorry it's just... let me think..." I sighed, clenching my fists and gritting my teeth.

"You're right... even if we want to talk to him... Where do we even start?"

...

_At Team CMEN's (Who the fuck decided this team name was a good idea?!) room_

"WHAT?!" Cinder shrieked.

"I told you, the virus was at 98.5%, when someone went up the elevator to the CCT towers, and I was forced to abandon it." Psycho Smile grunted. "Would it have been better if I got caught?"

"Didn't you say everybody will be paralyzed by that fear gas?" Emerald asked, raising a brow. "That there was nothing we had to worry about?"

"It's tear gas." Psycho smile scoffed, getting Emerald to roll her eyes.

"It should have paralyzed everybody unless they had Atlas tech for lungs." Psycho Smile confirmed. "Unless... he knew what it was."

Everybody's eyes then snapped to Mercury's, where he held out both hands. "Hey don't pin this on me. Evans was there the whole time, you guys were there with me."

"He was..." Cinder said, putting a hand to her chin. "Who else went out under our supervision?"

"There was that runt, Ruby Rose." Emerald pointed out. "General Ironwood went out about an hour afterwards, but I don't think it's him. The virus would've uploaded when he reached the tower."

"There was also Blake Belladona, Sun Wukong and Louis." Mercury added. "Along with a few other students."

"We can't tell for sure unless we have their data." Cinder mumbled, then glared at Psycho Smile. "And in order to get their data... we need that virus uploaded..."

"So?" Psycho Smile asked.

"So, you." Cinder pointed at his chest. "Finish the job."

"Can't." He simply shrugged, getting 3 unamused glares in his direction. "They know I'm here now, and what I look like, they'll be more cautious then ever."

"Then show them a side that they haven't seen before?" Emerald suggested, raising her brow.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if they're used to seeing you in that damn mask and purple hood, then maybe now it's time to get rid of it?"

"Huh... That's not a bad idea." Psycho Smile said, and used both hands to lift off his excecutioner's mask.

...

"Oh god my eyes!" Mercury said, using both arms to cover his eyes, causing Emerald and Cinder to just stare at him. "Bad joke?"

"Ha ha." Psycho Smile laughed sarcastically and used one hand to tear his hood off as he put on his beanie, rubbing his scalp to let his hair, which was covered in slimy sweat fall to his shoulders.

"Good, this way you're basically invisible to everybody except the other Seers." Cinder snickered. "All the students are gone for their first missions, so this should be an easy task."

"Hmph." Psycho Smile grunted.

"I work in the shadows."

"It's day." Emerald deadpanned.

"I am terror."

"Sure... a disheveled man in a beanie, black shirt and no weapons with no aura is the embodiment of terror." Mercury deadpanned.

"I am fear."

"Can you please just... do as you intended?" Cinder facepalmed.

"I am... Psycho Smile!- Oof!" He jumped through the doorways and... tripped, faceplanting to the floor.

The trio then just stared at him as the tapping of heels could be heard in a distance.

A girl with black hair, which was tied into twintails and green eyes walked up to the doors and craned her neck inside.

She then rotated her neck to look at Psycho Smile's back, and crouched down to poked him with her parasol like some kind of easily agitated animal that might attack her at any moment.

"Yes Neo, he's fine." Cinder groaned, putting both palms on her face. "He just tripped."

Neo then pointed to herself with a small smile.

"No Neo, nobody would notice you in your disguise, good job on the illusion." Emerald praised, trying to sound impressed, but failing as she stared at Psycho Smile in the most unflattering of angles.

Neo then pointed at Cinder's scroll with her parasol, as her expression suddenly change to conflicted.

"No Neo... We still haven't found out who's responsible for knocking Torchwick out. You know it's the yellow haired girl, but we still haven't found the Seer." Cinder said.

"We're about to though." Mercury said, pointing to Psycho Smile. "Maybe you want to accompany him for reassurance?"

Neo thought for a moment as her eyes rolled up and she put a finger to her chin, then shook her head.

"Thought so." Emerald sighed. "Even our little psychopathic killer doesn't want to get near that creep."

Neo huffed and crossed her arms as she gave Emerald a virgorous nod.

...

...

_Later..._

I went up to team RWBY's room as my hand trembled, each step getting heavier by the minute.

Ugh... what do I do?

...

What can I do?

...

I twisted the doorknob, and opened the doors to 4 curious girls who zipped and got in my face before I could even take a breather.

"So...?" Weiss asked.

"So...?" I repeated after her.

"Who is purple hood?" Yang asked. "It's not like you to just walk off with your food unfinished."

"We could tell that you know him." Ruby added. "You went off after finishing the lyrics to the song."

"Not to mention you looked distraught." Blake finished.

"Just... let me get inside first will ya? I need some space to think." I replied, pushing past them.

"Why? If you know purple hood, then isn't it better? It's like me knowing Torchwi-"

"It's not that simple" I cut off as I took a seat on the edge of my bed. "This isn't just about good and bad, me, Evans and a few others knew each other before Beacon, just like how you knew your friends back at Signal. It's... hard... to accept that he's against us, supporting the White Fang and Torchwick."

"Louis..." Blake started, taking a seat beside me, putting her hand on my shoulder, while the other girls followed her example. "We're here, if you need an ear."

"I just don't get why he would do it. It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe you broke his heart?" Yang chuckled, and deadpanned when nobody responded to that.

"Right now I'm just thinking on how we should approach this situation." I sighed, gritting my teeth.

"Everything's gonna be okay, we're gonna handle this... as a team!" Ruby cheered, causing a small smile to tug at the edge of my lips.

...

...

Wait a minute,

That upload...

It might have been my imagination but... I'm sure I caught a 90 something out of the corner of my eye as I picked Ruby up.

If Purple Hood is D then...

"Ruby..."

"Hm?" She asked from the edge of my bed.

"What if I told you we can meet him again right now?"

"What?!" Ruby yelled, half in shock and half excited. "Are you sure?"

I nodded in response as I looked at my scroll. It read 3:48 P.M.

"How are you so sure?" Weiss asked. "I mean, he could be anywhere else by now."

"He didn't finish uploading whatever it is he wanted to upload to the CCT tower last night... He's gonna try again."

"And how are you so sure it's gonna be today?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"He's an impatient guy, he usually wants to get stuff done ASAP, or not at all."

"Wait wait wait, do you even have a plan to deal with him?" Weiss asked as she raised her brow, getting me to look at her in return. "I mean, if he's your friend, we're not gonna go too hard on him, bu-"

"I have nothing against that." I snorted. "You can be as hard on him as you'd like. I just need to figure out a plan that brings him to us, not us to him, to prevent him from running away again."

"And... do you?"

"As a matter of fact... I do." I said with a wide grin as I looked at Ruby.

"But you're not gonna like it."

The girls all just looked at each other, shifting uneasily as they wondered if they even wanted to know what I had in mind.

...

...

_About an hour later..._

Ruby sighed as she paced around uneasily in the small confines of the elevator that was leading up to the CCT towers.

"Ruby..." Louis's voice crackled over her earpiece, causing her to jolt up. "Sorry, looks like I shocked you."

"I-it's okay." She stammered.

"Nervous?"

"I-I would be lying if I said I wasn't."

Louis sighed over the intercoms, probably gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. "Sorry, but there's not much of an option here. I would go there myself, but from the Shipment Yard fight, Even I didn't seem to trigger a memory, and I doubt sending Evans will."

"And you think sending Ruby will? How?" Yang asked over the earpiece, though Ruby could sense her deadpanning. "They've never even met."

"I-its... complicated." Louis sighed.

"I-I mean... h-how hard could it be? I'm gonna go to the CCT towers alone, no Cresent Rose, and in a white sailor's outfit with a thin red ribbon as a tie." She fiddled uncomfortably. "This stupid black miniskirt is so short too..."

"Ugh.. I feel guilty, really I do, but I won't let you get hurt. You know that right?"

"Sure you do." Blake's voice crackled, though Ruby imagined her rolling her eyes. "You sure this isn't your weird fetish?"

"Hey, I'm sure this will score us a Purple Hood. You wanna bet something on it?"

"Im in."

"Ooh, Blake, you're feisty, I thought you have Sun." Yang teased, clearly misinterpreting what she's betting.

"Can we please just concentrate." Weiss groaned, clearly fustrated, as the elevator beeped, and its doors hissed open over the intercoms.

"Alright, everybody shut off their coms, I'll guide Ruby from here." Louis said. "Just do what I say, and it's all gonna be okay."

Ruby shuffled uneasily and took a step forward.

_Ruby's POV_

What is Louis planning to do?

All he said was to come up here in this outfit, and act natural if I see him.

He also said he'll guide me on what to say while the others could listen in, but won't comment in case it overlaps.

That isn't much to go by.

I scanned the area. Rows of unbooted computers laid before me, except one in front.

I tiptoed to see if there is any sights of purple, anything that even looks a bit like him.

Nothing, all I saw was a man slightly taller then me in a black beanie in the front row, typing away furiously while muttering something unaudible.

"Ruby." Louis breathed, causing me to perk up.

"Louis!" I whispered. "Don't shock me like that!"

"Sorry. Do you see anything suspicious?"

"There's only one guy here, no purple hood though."

"One guy?"

"Yeah, no guards at all, probably still hospitalized from last night." I muttered, slowly advancing towards the terminals.

"Can you describe him?"

"I'm... trying to get behind him, but right now, all I see is a black beanie."

Louis gasped over the other side of the comms.

"Louis? What is it?"

"It's him."

I immidiately ducked under the nearest table, and looked behind to see that he hadn't noticed me yet.

Good.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "If this is a random guy..."

"Black beanie, black shirt and shoulder length hair?" Louis asked from the other side.

I gulped down the horror to see that his description is dead on accurate.

I nodded, then after a few seconds of silence, realized that did nothing.

"Yeah." I whimpered.

"Okay..." Louis breathed. "Let's get this show on the road."

"What should I do?"

"First, you should come out of where you're hiding."

"How did you-"

"You're you."

I grumbled as I shot up, and patted invisible dust off my miniskirt, and tried to look as normal as possible as I crept to the terminal 2 rows behind him.

"What now?"

"Okay... let's see if I remember how to do this right."

Remember how to do what right?

_Louis's POV_

Alright old friend, let's see if this will jog up anything.

If there's anything I knew, from the way he acted, he was just pretending to be cool.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, if you can pull it off.

But we're his close friends.

We knew each other's strengths...

"Start off with a simple nervous introduction."

And weaknesses.

_Ruby's POV_

Nervous introduction?

Does he mean awkwardly?

I thought he knew I wasn't good with people.

I sighed, tiptoeing to avoid making much noise as I crept up behind him.

He spun around, eyes wide as he gave me a eerily creepy smile.

"Yes? May I help you?" He asked.

That voice... it really is him.

"H-hi." I smiled.

"_Put your hands behind your back, and look away, breaking eye contact._"

Purple Hood then scanned me, looking up and down as he marvelled at my figure.

"You look familiar." He said. "Have I seen you before?"

"_Say maybe, that you've been looking at him for a while now, and keep stealing glances and back_."

"M-maybe." I repeated, doing as Louis asked. "I've been keeping my eyes on you for a while now..."

"Oh?" Purple Hood asked. "Something you wanna ask? Maybe something you need?"

"_Say b-baka, i-it's nothing like that, while putting one curled hand to your mouth, and blush a bit._"

What the heck does baka even mean?

Despite having slight doubt, I have an even bigger one that Louis is willing to put me in danger.

"B-baka..." I stammered. "I-it's nothing like that." I said as I put a slightly curled hand to my mouth, and thought of last night, where Louis had kissed me.

Purple Hood jittered a bit, looking excited as his face broke into a wide grin.

"Then...?"

"_Huff, and then cross your arms and look away._"

"Hmph!" I huffed, crossing my arms and looked to the left.

"Ohoho..." Purple hood chuckled as he got up from his seat, taking one step forward to me.

"_Judging by that squeak, he just got up didn't he?_"

Did he want me to answer that?

"_Don't answer that by the way, that was rhetorical._"

...

What should I do?

"_Stand still, let him grab you by the shoulders._"

WHAT?!

Before I knew it, Purple hood was inches away, kept looking around for other people as he finally decided to stare down at me.

"Ruby Rose, if I'm not mistaken?" Purple Hood grinned, putting both arms on my shoulders. "You're alone..."

"We're alone..."

Eep!

"_Don't panic._" Louis said reassuringly. "_Now pout and blush while you throw your face elsewhere._"

Even with everything racing while chills travelled down my spine, I did as asked.

"Ehehehehe." He drooled all over his chest, soaking the skull that lay imprinted on his shirt.

Gross! Why is Louis even friends with this guy?!

_Louis's POV_

Gotcha now you bastard!

Ruby has him on the ropes.

If there was anything I've learnt when I passed by his rooms,

judging by the sounds I've heard over the years,

it's that he's...

A complete...

"Now Ruby finish him off!"

_Ruby's POV_

Finish him off?!

"_Put both curled hands to your chin, and scream on the top of your lungs "ONII CHAN! YAMETEEE!_"

What was that supposed to mean?!

No time to think! Gotta do as Louis asks if we wanna apprehend him!

"ONII CHAAAAN! YAMETEEEE!"

_Louis's POV_

...Siscon.

"Ruby..." I breathed.

"Run."

_Ruby's POV_

What?

I looked up to see the sinister black eyes looming over me, hungry with lust as he licked his lips.

Run?

That was probably a good option right now.

Good?

Probably the best option right now!

Without a second thought, I burst into rose petals while Purple Hood tried to grab me, only to grab nothing but air.

"What do I do now?!" I asked over the comms.

"Run towards the exits!" Louis panted from the other side of the call.

Well,

at least with my sembelance, he isn't going anywhere near-

"EhEhehEhheee..." I heard him chuckle.

Wait...

Why does he sound so close?!

I looked behind in horror to see both his hands held out, only inches away from grabbing the back of my mini skirt

"WHAT?! HOW IS HE SO FAST?!"

"He'll do anything to have you right now. You can't outmatch him in speed even with bursting into rose petals."

"That's poop!" I cursed, bursting into rose petals once more as I raced down the stairs, and looked behind me to see that Purple Hood was somehow close in pursuit.

"Louis! Help me!" I screamed.

"You're close to the exit! I can hear you!" Louis shouted.

He was right, through the dim lights, I saw a bright one piercing under the door... just 2 more flights of stairs and I'm...

"I'm coming for you Imouto chan..." Purple Hood whispered, and before I knew it, both his arms are stretched around my peripheral vision.

Before he could grab he, I dove under, bursting into rose petals once more and sped down as fast as my petal form could take me.

Half a flight of stairs...

I held out my hand, reaching for the door knob, only for it to burst open.

"Gah!" I wobbed both hands as I lost balance, and tripped.

My eyes widened as Purple Hood laughed maniacally from the dim lighted tower, charging at the sights of my miniskirt with full speed, tounge lashing wildly as he held both hands out, and dived.

_BANG_

_Crash_

_Clatter_

_Thud_

Purple Hood's body then dropped to the ground at the edge of my feet, as Louis held a metallic food tray that had Purple Hood's face imprinted on it.

"Whew..." Louis wiped a sweat from his forehead. "That was close."

...

...

...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS CLOSE?! WHERE WERE YOU?!"

"I was here. I told you I'd meet you at the exit." Louis shrugged innocently.

"WHAT DID YOU EVEN MADE ME SAY TO HIM?!"

"Calm down..." Louis chuckled, offering me a hand. "You don't need to know. He fell for the bait. What matters is that we got him."

I looked to my feet and saw Purple Hood was knocked out cold.

She...

They finally did it.

I sighed as I threw Louis a dirty glare and pouted.

"You know... I'm not him. That isn't gonna work on me- Oof!"

I then threw a punch to his gut.

"But that is." I huffed, pouting as I crossing my arms.


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you sure about this?" Blake asked me.

"About what?" I asked back.

"Leaving Evans alone at Beacon to handle Edgy D... or Derrick, whatever you guys call him." Yang responded.

"Yeah, he'll be fine on his own. It wouldn't be the first time Evans has to take care of him alone." It was true. The amount of times Evans had to deal with Derrick's edgy nature on earth was ludicrous. I'm amazed he even manages to retain his temper, although at the end of the day, he'll look constipated after a day of hanging out with just the two of em.

"Okay, if you're sure." Blake said.

"I heard he was faster then Ruby, even if her rose petal form." Weiss questioned, raising her brow. "Is Evans faster then that? Because judging from his fight with Mercury, I highly doubt it."

"He's only that powerful if he sees what he wants." I snorted. "And he wants... Ruby... Desperately."

"How did you know?"

"Lucky gu-"

"Oh come on." Yang rolled her eyes, making me chuckle.

"You guys gotta learn to trust me more with these kinds of stuff."

The air outside was chilly, the sleeping bags did nothing to soften the hard and concrete floor, while the fire was the only thing keeping us warm. Sounds of Beowolves howling filled the air, but Ruby didn't flinch, indicating that it was just echoes that bounced off the walls of the ruins, while the source of it was still far away. The abandoned building served well as an outpost, while Ruby decided to take on first watch.

Speaking of which, she still wasn't talking to me.

"Think Ruby will ever forgive me?" I asked as I looked at the scarlet reaper perched on the hole in the wall, looking out for possible Grimm.

"Probably, but not anytime soon." Yang turned around to face me. "You did make her wear that skimpy outfit after all."

What skimpy outfit?

The only thing skimpy about it, was the miniskirt.

I'm surprised Yang even agreed to it, even after several conflicted looks.

I gave a low groan as I put up both my hands to my face. "But it was the only way I could think of to catch Derrick."

"And that, you did." Weiss smiled, struggling to find a comfortable position to settle in her sleeping bag. "I was just as sceptical as everybody at first, but you seem to know him well enough that you know what makes him tick."

"Well, we were pretty close." In distance I mean, his dorm room was about a few steps away from mine. "So it's no surprise there."

"Ooh, one bed close?" Yang teased.

"Get some rest, fighting the Grimm in Mount Glenn has gotten to your delusional head." I responded, snuggling in the sheets, while the 3 others giggled.

...

...

...

"Hey Louis?" Yang asked about an hour later.

"Hm?" I asked back.

"Still awake?"

"Didn't I just answer that?"

"I guess you did." She chuckled.

"What's up?"

"Did Oobleck asked you why you wanted to become a Huntsman?"

"Nope." Probably because I care of these 4 just as much as they care for me. Not like I have anything left in the real world anyways, now that I'm dead...

"No? Weird... Ruby said no too."

"Is it really?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"When he asked you that, did you think it was just for the sake of curiousity?"

"No." Blake answered from her sleeping bag.

"Sorry Blakey, did we wake you up?" Yang asked, actually concerned.

"It's... fine, I was awake anyways."

"So is Weiss." I pointed out.

"And I thought I could eavesdrop just a little longer." The heiress mumbled.

"What? Thought we would start talking trash about you Ice Queen?"

Weiss then glared up to see me smirking down on her.

"Anyways." I yawned. "It's a nice night out. You girls discuss what you girls need to discuss. With me living in the dorm rooms, you girls rarely had any chance for 'girl talk' anyway. I'm just gonna take a walk."

"Are you sure?" Yang raised her brow. "These parts are..."

"...Infested with Grimm. I know." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be careful on my way out."

With that, I got up, and stole a quick glance on a sleeping green haired man to make sure he had his eyes closed, and made my way out, and down the stairs.

It's probably my imagination, but I thought I saw him smirk.

Alright, all I need to do now is wait for Zwei to take a leak, then Ruby should follow not long after.

...

...

...

_Ruby's POV_

...

"Zwei? Zwei this is a wasteland. You litterally could've done that anywhere."

"Arf." The corgi replied.

"What was that?" A distant murmur asked, causing me to fled and hide, Zwei in hand.

"What was what?" Another sounded off.

I looked over the corner and saw 2 White Fang members patrolling the area.

...

...

"This is it!" I let out an excited whisper as I grabbed my scroll.

Should I do a team chat...? Louis will probably be in it.

No.

I still haven't forgiven him for what happened.

Escpecially not after that.

No way.

I swiped Louis's contact off, and called the remainder of team RWBY.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught, as 'LOW SIGNAL' appeared in front, overlapping my teamates faces.

Ugh...

Looks like we're gonna have to do this manually.

"Come on Zwei." I called, and walked back.

After a bit of walking the ground shook and rumbled while I stopped in my tracks.

Earthquake?

The next thing I know, the sighed of abandoned ruins disappeared as I was staring down at pitch black darkness.

The ground beneath me gave away, shattering and caving in as the dust and debris seem to get swallowed up into the void.

Lucky for me my quick reflexes let me hang on to a ledge, all while being able to catch Zwei.

"Gaaaaaah!" I yelled out as the ledge my fingers were clinging onto finally gave away, the darkness swallowing me up whole.

The last thing I saw or heard... Was Zwei whimpering.

_A few minutes later..._

Gah, this sucks.

Why o why didn't Cresent Rose fall down here with me?

Now I'm just as defenseless as a hamster in a cage.

Great...

...

...

Someone save me...

Anyone...

Yang...

Louis...

...

As I thought of that, I looked around me as I was being dragged away to see a ton of Atlas Tech being boarded upon a train.

Mechas, dust crates, more dust

dust, way more dust then I thought ever possible.

and apparently what looks like a... bomb? Dust bomb of course.

Who needs this much dust?

"Hey Boss! We found something you might wanna see." One of the White Fang grunts to my left yelled out.

"Is it good or bad barry because let me tell you, I have had a day."

That voice...

There's no mistaking it!

"It's a little girl?"

An orange haired man stepped out of the storage room.

"That would be... bad."

TORCHWICK!

_Louis's POV_

"Sup Zwei."

"Arf." Zwei barked, pulling the end of my jeans towards a certain spot.

"You don't have to pull y'know. I'll still follow."

With that, Zwei ran behind the corner of the building, and motioned for me to follow.

Huh, so that's where she's supposed to fall, I thought to myself, looking at the huge gaping hole in the middle of the streets.

Weird.

Considering I've walked around these parts, attempting to fall before Ruby about 5 times, but the ground never gave away.

Oh well.

"Zwei. Get the others. I'll go down there and meet with Ruby."

Zwei whimpered as his ears fell, and I patted his head in response.

"It's alright. I'll take care of her."

Zwei then licked my hand in response

"Go now boy!" I pointed to the direction where the others are, and saw Zwei fade into a little grey ball of fur behind the corner.

"Alright. Let's do this."

I closed my eyes, and...

jumped.

...

...

Wait...

my Aura will protect me from fall damage...

right?

...

...

...

God I hope so.

This is a long ass fall.

...

...

Still falling.

...

...

_THUD_

Okay there we go, and the answer to that is apparently... yes.

My legs still aren't broken, when I obviously landed on them.

"Freeze!" A White Fang member walked in, holding a gun.

"Where did he come from?" The other asked.

"Weird... just like that girl we found here a few minutes ago."

"Uhh... take me to your leader?"

And that comment, earned me a punch to the gut, and afterwards, a boot to the face.

...

...

...

"Louis..."

"Louis!"

Hmm?

"Louis wake up!"

The sound was too distorted, and muffled.

When I came to, I saw Ruby shaking me vigorously by the shoulders.

"Yeah yeah, I'm awake." I said, struggling sit up right as I held my hand to my head.

"Whew..." Ruby breathed out, before throwing a punch to my shoulder.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"I thought you were dead!" She yelled as she hugged me upfront, closing her eyes.

"Dea- What made you think of that?"

"You were out for a good 30 minutes when they brought you in..." Ruby sobbed into my shoulder.

30 minutes? Has Ruby ever seen coma patients? Some wake up after 3 years, others longer. Then another thought struck me.

"Is this what's its gonna take for you to talk to me? Because if it is I think we should reconsider our friendshi- Ow!"

"Idiot..." She muttered, as her tears leaked through her eyelids as she profusely threw soft punches at my chest.

"Shhh..." I comforted her, patting her head.

"Awww." Torchwick came out among the guards. "How sweet. Looks like Little Red does have a soft spot after all."

"Torchwick." I greeted. "Nice to see you're all fine and dandy after hitting your head that hard."

"It knocked me out cold for a few days, but nothing a little sleep can't fix."

"Shame." I shook my head. "I thought I would at least knock your bastardy attitude."

"Didn't your parents ever told you to respect your elders?"

"Nope, what they said instead, was "Why don't you sleep for good then? I'm sure you're gonna feel good as new afterwards." I chuckled. "So, I'm just gonna tell you the same thing."

"Did they now?"

"Yeah, when I don't feel like getting up in the morning." I said as I stretched out my hands.

"Tch..." Torchwick spat, raising his cane to my chin. "How did you find this place?"

"Don't hurt him!" Ruby clawed, but I held her hand, though it did cause Torchwick to jump back.

"That's a secret. But if you want to know so much, looks like you should keep your underlings on leashes."

Torchwick then glared over to the guards that brought the both of us in, and they shrugged.

"I didn't do it." One said, causing the other to throw up his arms.

"We're gonna have a talk about this later..." Torchwick grumbled as his gaze snapped back to me, and whacked me with the butt of his cane, causing me to tumble a few meters away.

"NO!" Ruby shouted, trying to discard the cane by clinging onto Torchwick's arm, only to get knocked away to my side as well.

"Ruby, don't interfere." I said, holding my jaw. "It's alright."

"What do you mean?! How can I stand still while you get hurt?!"

"If he's focused on me, then you won't get hurt!" I shouted back, getting up, while several White Fang members pointed their guns at me.

Ruby grit her teeth as tears rolled down her face.

"If only I had Cresent Rose with me..." She muttered.

"This has nothing to do with Cresent Rose." I said as I dusted myself off, getting Ruby to look up.

"What do you mean?" Torchwick cackled. "That oversized gardening tool is the only reason she's troublesome. Just look at her now!"

"You're treating her like fighting alone is the only thing she can do."

"What? Of course it is! She wants to be a Huntress doesn't she?" Torchwick mocked. "Then she will die a huntress."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"We're not gonna die here today." I said, raising my fists.

"What?!" Torchwick laughed so hard, tears started to form. "You think you can beat me in hand to hand combat?!"

"I know I can." I smirked.

"Well then." Torchwick said with a wide grin. "Why don't we?"

"Louis don't!" Ruby begged. "He's too much for you to handle. Use Bloody Berry, please!"

"This?" I asked, taking my weapon out of my pocket, while the White Fang members cocked their guns and aimed it to me, some even looking surprised through their masks.

"I don't need it yet." I said, tossing it over to Ruby. "Hold on to it for me."

"What?!" Torchwick shouted. "He had a weapon, and you guys didn't discard it?! What am I even paying you for?!"

"We didn't even know it was a weapon sir." One of the White Fang grunt's said in their defense. "We just noticed a strange buldge and we thought it was... something else."

"Define something else?" Torchwick asked, raising his brow.

"A-a Toy perhaps." The other stammered, causing the others to fake their coughs.

I'll be damned.

Yang was right.

Torchwick was dumbfounded, then looked over to Bloody Berry in Ruby's hands.

"Now that you mention it, it does have the size of a-"

He was cut off when there was a low rumble that shook the cavern they were in, and sounds of explosions echoed off the cave walls.

"What is going on here?!" Torchwick complained, as he squinted his eyes to the far end, where White Fang members can visibly be seen running from something.

Soon, Professor Oobleck, along with the rest of team RWBY appeared from the corner of a huge boulder.

"Ruby, if you would." I said, taking her hand.

"Gladly." She smiled, wiping a tear from her eye, and bursting into rose petals as we headed for our group.

"What?! Somebody kill them!" Torchwick yelled out behind us.

Before we reached them however, Ruby skidded to a halt in front of some White Fang grunts, who had their weapon's aimed to our throats.

I grabbed Bloody Berry from Ruby's hands, extended it, and did a clean low sweep, causing the whole bunch to fall down on their knees as Professor Oobleck fired a fireball at them, causing the grunts to get knocked out.

Then I turned around, right on time to see one of Torchwick's projectiles, advancing at a rapid pace towards my face, and did a vertical slash, which deflected right back at him, causing an explosion on the floor.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as Ruby leapt into her arms. "You're okay!"

"Yeah yeah but liste-"

"Get on the train, they have bombs on each cart and they will detach and explode to make way for Grimm from the surface." I explained.

"What?! Impossible!" Oobleck said. "This tunnel leads to a dead end."

"It doesn't." I replied, before there was a loud screech, causing Weiss to grit her teeth and look annoyed.

"It leads to the city, Torchwick wants to use it as a battering ram."

"That will kill all the White Fang on board!" Blake yelled.

"It's Torchwick." I rolled my eyes. "You think he cares?"

"Grrrrh..." Blake grit her teeth and clenched her fists.

"Ruby, contact Jaune. The call will make it through even if the signal is low."

Ruby nodded and proceeded to do so.

"Now what?" Weiss asked.

"I believe we only have one option." Oobleck said.

"We're stopping this train." Ruby said, cocking her rifle.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**

**3.2k views already? Bloody berrying hell you guys are amazing. Thanks for reading along to this point, and I hope I'll continue to entertain you guys more throughout!**

"Louis was right!" Oobleck shouted, opening the 3rd hatch. "They all have bombs!"

"Oh, so now you believe me?" I shouted back behind me, extending Bloody Berry to my side as I deflected some shots from the White Fang grunts in the carts in front, who were all aiming towards Oobleck, to try and prevent him from disabling the bomb.

"How did yo-

lucky guess, of course. Why did I even bother." Weiss rolled her eyes, lifting Myrtenaster to her face.

"See, now you're getting the hang of it." I smirked and poked out my tounge, doing a vertical slash to deflect another array of bullets that were spraying in our direction.

"What's the plan?" Yang asked, cocking Ember Celica, and sending 1 burly White Fang member underneath.

Oobleck then said "You 3, go below and find a way to stop thos-"

"4." I cut off as the White Fang grunts started to get into Atlesian Paladins. "I'm coming with you guys. If there's anyone down there, its gonna be hostile."

Oobleck nodded, while Ruby gave me a hug. "Good luck down there." Ruby whispered.

"Good luck with you too. Stay safe, I'll see you soon." I replied as she broke the hug, and jumped into the hatch.

...

_Thud_

Alright, round one. I thought, as I looked around me. Boxes, boxes and crates everywhere.

3 girls then landed afterwards, surrounding me back to back, prepared for any incoming attacks.

"Here." Weiss said, handing a dust cartridge onto Blake's hands. "This should help you out."

"Thanks..." Blake replied, loading said dust cartridge into Gambol Shroud with a satisfying click.

_Thud_

Out of the corner of my eyes, there was a blur of pink and brown, as Neo appeared in the same cart we were in.

"You guys go on ahead." Yang said. "Leave this to-"

"Us." I finished. "We'll catch up."

Blake and Weiss exchanged confused looks, but settled on nodding and running past Neo as Yang fired a dust shot aimed at Neo, causing her to block with her parasol.

"What? Think I couldn't handle this on my own?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Nope. I'm sure you could do swell." I rolled my eyes.

"Just don't get in my way!" Yang yelled, charging forward.

"Wouldn't think of it." I yawned back, and leaned back on a couple of dust filled boxes.

...

...

...

"A little help would be nice!" Yang yelled as she threw a dirty glance at me, who was sitting on top of a crate, before getting knocked back by Neo.

"Whatever happened to 'i can do this on my own', or 'Just don't get in the way'?"

"Haaargh!" Yang threw a punch, only for Neo to counter it yet again, knocking her up to the ceiling with a thundering slam, and making her pass out almost immediately, falling face first to the ground, unconscious.

Neo then pointed her parasol at me, as if challenging me to a duel, which I just shrugged in response.

"Look, I'm gonna be honest, I'm nowhere near your level, neither are the 3 other girls if you're just gonna pick them off one by one. We're just students after all."

Neo's smug smile got wiped off, getting replaced by a more confused look, pointing her parasol towards Yang.

Why I didn't help her then?

"Because there's no point. I'm here to talk, at least to you, not to fight."

Neo then lowered her parasol to her side, but still maintained eye contact as she strolled to the side, afraid if I'll pull of anything stupid.

Alright then, let's start.

Talking with a petite psychopath.

There's no way this is gonna end up with me being impaled by that blade she carries under her parasol... Right?

"I know that you know there are some people who can predict futures accurately. Take Purple Hood for example."

In a blink of an eye, Neo had drawn her blade from her parasol, and had its tip to my throat.

I was wrong... Again.

"Can you let me finish?" I rolled my eyes. "I never said I was one of them."

Neo maintained her posture, not moving in the slightest as she tried to stare me down, thinking I would falter.

Fine by me.

I should be used to it by now anyways.

"I know you have more of a reason to kill Yang because she hurt your boss."

Neo nodded slightly with a hardened glare, raising one eyebrow.

What's my point?

"But that was actually our attempts at saving him."

Neo's expression then turned into one of puzzled, then shook off her head.

I took that chance to continue.

"Cinder has control over Grimm to some degree, don't know if you know that or not, and Torchwick isn't gonna get the benefit of getting protected, and neither are you. He's gonna get eaten alive when he gets out of jail, which he is gonna get thrown into after this train crashes. Weird to be saying this before the thing actually happens, but yeah."

Neo looked down in disbelief, slowly digesting the words that I said by gulping while her hands trembled slightly.

That didn't last long, and her gaze snapped back to mine. However, her expression softened slightly as she wore a half saddened, half conflicted expression.

"Believe it or not, our foreseer told us that Torchwick will be eaten alive by Grimm at the Vytal Festival, during the invasion. So, I was told to let Yang knock him out, in hopes that he gets knocked out till after the Vytal Festival was over. Unfortunately, he got better." I groaned.

Neo then cocked her head, questioning my methods.

"Well, do you have a better idea on how to save him if you were in our shoes? It's not like you, or even Torchwick himself is gonna listen unless we're in this kind of situation."

Neo thought for a moment as she put a finger to her chin and her eyes rolled up for a while, then eventually looked back to me while shaking her head.

"Precisely."

Neo then looked conflicted once more, wondering if she should believe in my words or not as I felt the trembling blade leave my throat.

"Neo. Think about it. You get to walk off, or fly off, whichever the case, with Torchwick alive, we get to live another day. The way I see it, it's a win win solution."

Neo appeared deep in thought, but then her eyes suddenly widened, but her gaze is no longer concentrated on my face. She was looking at something else, as a shadow elongated from behind me as she shook while her face showed fear.

Oh right,

how can I forget.

Tapping could be heard as someone else entered the cart we are in, causing Neo to jump back from her current position. The woman appeared before Yang, and glared over to Neo with menacing crimson eyes through her mask, unsheathing her red odachi as the sheath itself rotated dust with a series of clicks, not saying a word.

Raven.

If she didn't appear, Yang and I would be dead.

At least if I wasn't able to convince Neo.

Neo then gave me one last look, before jumping back and teleporting out.

Oh well, I implimented self doubt onto Neo.

Mission accomplished.

Raven then glanced over to Yang, who was still unconscious.

"She's fine." I reassured.

Ah well, I'll just have to see how this plays out. I thought, as Raven opened a portal, eyes never leaving me even as she entered it.

"Ugh..." Yang groaned as she tried to get up.

"Stay." I said, going by her side. "You took a heavy hit. Join us up front once you feel well enough to walk. Don't take too long though, this train is about to crash."

"You... Didn't help me... You bastard."

"Hey." I snorted. "I wasn't about to disrespect your brawlers ethics on a fair fight. Besides, you were the one who requested it. Also, she was about to stab you. You're alive aren't you? You're welcome."

"Uggggh..." Yang held her stomach and grit her teeth, and gave a slight nod as I helped her by the shoulders, and dragged her limp body to rest her back among one of the crates.

"Does that mean we gonna have trust issues from now on?" I sarcastically asked.

"Idiot..." She chuckled, lightly opening one eye. "Go help the others."

"I'll take that as a no." I smiled, and opened the doors of the current cart to proceed to the next foe.

Alright... stage 2.

...

...

I then entered the cart in front of me, where Weiss was just about to launch herself for the finishing blow.

"Weiss stop!" I yelled out, causing her to lose concentration and pause mid air.

"Come here prin- what?!"

"Gah!" Weiss exclaimed, as she turned back right on time to see his hand barely missing her face by mere inches, as it extended over her shoulder, causing him to slightly stagger and lose balance.

Weiss then conjured a glyph mid air and backflipped gracefully, kicking the White Fang boss on his chin that sent him staggering backwards. She landed by my side, readying Myrtenaster to her face once more.

"Thanks..." She murmured.

"No problem." I said, readying myself by extending my weapon as the White Fang lieutenant advanced, wielding the chainsaw like a madman craving vengeance.

Why does this feel so familiar? I thought as I blocked his chainsaw with Bloody Berry while the horrendus whirring of the motor grew defeaningly loud that sent my ears ringing.

Weiss decided to flank to the side, to hopefully attack him from behind.

Towering figure...

Train fight...

Chainsaw...

I forced him back as I pushed his weapon aside, embedding it onto the floor and slashed upwards with my blade, causing him to stagger backwards and shout out in pain as Weiss unleashed a series of swift jabs with Myrtenaster to his back.

Where have I seen this elsewhere before...

...

Oh, that's right.

House of the Dead 4. The Empress.

Where was the weak point shown again?

...

After using a Time Dilation glyph on the both of us, Weiss then conjured up 5 more glyphs around him, and crouched into position to unleash another barrage as he was recovering from her previous one.

"Weiss! Get his mask!" I yelled.

Weiss nodded, and then leapt off her current Glyph and rapidly threw a series of jabs and slashes on the designated point, as I slid past them, using the edge, slashed to the side to do a low sweep, and launched him upwards, causing Weiss to aim more accurately as the lieutenant is currently in free fall, leaving Weiss to juggle him mid air infinitely.

He tried to use both of his hands to block, only for his aura to run low and for his forearms to start to bleed. With one last glyph atop his head, Weiss plunged down, aiming the rapier to the exhausted lieutenant's gut.

He came down with a thundering boom, which shook the train cart throughout, and then writhed for a few seconds in pain, before laying still on the ground.

Weiss panted heavily, putting both hands on her knees as she landed beside me.

For a moment there, I saw White and blue stripes.

...

What am I thinking? Now's not the time!

"You alright Ice Queen?" I asked, rubbing her back.

"Yeah... he was... a tough... opponent..."

"You fared well."

"Only because you were there to save me right on time." Weiss smiled through heavy breaths.

"Rest for a bit, I'll go and see how Blake is doing." I said, putting one of her hands over my shoulders to guide her to a nearby crate to rest upon.

Weiss nodded, and I ran over to get to the next cart.

...

Just in time to see Blake knock Torchwick out unconscious.

"Glad to see you're still in one piece, Blakey."

"Yeah..." Blake replied. "He was tough, but thanks to Weiss's dust I was able to push through."

"Are you actually warming up to her? Her heart might melt y'know." I chuckled. "Then she won't be our Ice Queen anymore, and we're gonna have to come up with a new nickname."

Blake smiled, then playfully threw me a punch on the shoulder, then a sudden jolt in the train almost caused us both to lose balance.

"Another explosion?!" Blake asked.

"That was probably the last one... we must be nearing the end of the tunnel." I replied. "We should get to the top of the train now."

"What about Weiss and Yang?"

"What about us?" Weiss asked, as she and Yang came through the doors, causing a grin to form at the edge of Blake's face.

"Lets go." I said, sliding the doors open.

...

...

"What do we do?" Blake asked, after we regrouped with Ruby above the train.

Ruby nodded to Weiss, and in an instant, a glacier wall surrounded us, encasing us like a crystalized cocoon.

...

This space is...

really cramped...

"Hey! Watch where you're putting your hands!" Yang complained.

"I'm not in charge of creating the space within this-"

_BOOM_

My vision turned white, then...

Nothing.

_An hour earlier,_

_Evans's POV_

Man this is boring.

It's been a few days since Derrick has been caught and he's still out cold.

...

At least that huge gash on his forehead is healed, so he's probably still alive... Right?

...

Just how hard did Louis hit him?

Looks like he got hit by a speeding truck.

...

...

Why am I being put on babysitter duty again?

...

Right...

Louis has to help team RWBY with that Mount Glenn arc that's why.

...

That doesn't make it any less boring though...

_Vrrrr_

_Vrrrr_

Huh?

I sighed as I got up from bed.

Vrr-

Louis?

"Yeah? What's u-"

_Crackle_

"Gah!" I yelped, putting my scroll as far away from me as possible.

Nothing but white noise.

"What the hell?" I saw my scroll and saw 'LOW SIGNAL'.

...

Yes

"Finally." I breathed a relief sigh. "It's time."

I looked back at Derrick, who was still strapped to a chair with the same material Gambol Shroud's ribbon is made of, his arms tied to the handrests, a ball gag (don't ask) in his mouth, and a blindfold to prevent him from panicking too much, in case he wakes up as 'Not Derrick'.

If he was waking up anytime soon, nobody's gonna hear him anyways, and it's not like he can escape on his own.

"Nobody's gonna be walking in on him." I snickered as I closed the doors, double tapping 'Lock' on my scroll.

"Alrighty, all set." I said, taking out my ivory coloured knuckle dusters from my pockets.

Huh... Now that I think about it, I never really gave them a name...

I think I'll name these...

"White Knuckle Ride."


	20. Chapter 20

"Neo." Cinder greeted once the pink and brown haired girl opened the doors, then looked down to fidget with her with the newly acquired data that has been implemented.

"Muahahaha!" Cinder cackled wickedly. "Finally, that man served his purpose! I have access to Beacon's entire database! Now let's see what we have here..."

Neo took a glance at a Cinder, and then looked down on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Emerald asked, noticing the pained expression on her face, while Cinder paid her no mind.

Was he telling the truth?

Has Psycho Smile been lying to her this whole time? Giving her false hopes?

Or did he just not give a damn?

...

She still remembered that fateful day...

...

She had been an orphan ever since she was 5, too young to remember who or where her parents were, and too young to even fathom the tragedy that befell her.

She was found sprawled on some cardboard sheets near a dumpster one day, hungry, cold, rags covered in dirt and sweat, dead exhausted and uncared for.

Footsteps started to make its way in the cold, thundering rain, as a man with a white coat and orange hair approached her. At first she thought the man with the black fedora will use her... just like many others did before. He reached out to her, only for her to lash out and burry her face in her knees in a corner.

He leapt back, and after a moment of hesitation, went away.

Good...

That was all Neo thought of, as she wept.

I'm the safest when I'm alone...

...

After a few minutes or so, the familiar tapping of footsteps came back, growing louder as it approached her.

She winced, as she looked up to see the same man from before, ready for him to grab her by the wrist and get dragged into a dark alley to be violated from lashing at him earlier...

She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst.

No...

NO!

Go away!

...

But nothing happened.

...

When she opened her eyes... what she saw was him smiling with some ice cream in hand.

"Here." He said, extending it out.

Her eyes sparkled at the act of generousity this man had expressed.

She got up and tried to find anything to write on, to express her gratitude.

"Hey hey..." He smiled once Neo had settled on hugging him.

"There there..." He said, stroking her hair while she sobbed silently on his coat.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up, it's cold here." The man gestured, noticing the multiple cuts and bruises that covered her small body, and offered a hand which Neo gladly took.

"What's your name?" He asked her as they walked the dampened streets, and opened up a parasol.

Neo stopped licking her ice cream and thought for a moment, and after a while, waved it at his face.

"Neo." Torchwick chuckled. "Neopolitan huh?"

Neo nodded.

"My name is Roman Torchwick. Nice to meet you."

Neo just looked up... and smiled.

...

Ever since then, Neo had been raised as an assassin, always by Roman's side even when he decided to go with Cinder.

In all honesty, Neo was still wondering if that guy on the train had been telling the truth or not. If yes, could she convince Emerald and Mercury to join her? How could she just bail on the master plan like this?

No...

Emerald and Mercury pledged their loyalty to Cinder, there was no way she could convince them to join her.

If he was lying however... How could he come up with such an explanation without stuttering, without a script?

Did he memorize it beforehand? Did he practice, knowing she would be on that train to fight that yellow haired brawler?

"Hey Neo," Mercury got up from doing push ups.

Neo craned her neck and raised a brow.

"What's that in your pocket?" He pointed.

Neo looked puzzled for a second, then took out a piece of paper that was apparently in her breast pocket.

What the...? Since when was that there?

Had she bought something and forgot the receipt in her pocket?

No... She always throws them away.

She took a moment to take out the crumpled piece of paper, and her eyes went slightly wide as her mouth hung in the air for a moment, before throwing it in the bin.

"Neo?" Emerald asked, cocking her head to the side.

_"Nothing." _Neo typed on her scroll and showed it to the room.

"_It was just an invoice for some clothes I decided to buy the other day." _

"But... You wear the same clothes everyday." Mercury pointed out. "And you have your illusions if you wanna change your appearance."

"_That doesn't mean I don't change!" _Neo furiously typed out on her scroll. _"I sweat too you know!_"

"Alright, alright." Mercury smirked, putting both hands up, and returned to his workout. "Got me there."

His workout was cut short as the alarms started to blare throughout the guest dorms, causing Cinder's eyes to widen.

"What the-" Cinder asked.

"Let's go take a look." Mercury said as he got up, and the trio left, leaving Neo alone.

...

If he is telling the truth... Then...

...

Louis... Huh?

_Shift_

_A few minutes earlier..._

"I'm sure they're fine." Phyrra said, kissing Jaune's cheek and putting a hand to his shoulder, as team JNPR walked to their designated bullhead.

"You think?" Jaune asked.

"Probably a buttdial." Nora said gleefully.

"Team RWBY and Louis has always performed exceptionally... We should be focusing on our own mission." Ren pointed out.

...

...

The emergency alarms then blared from the central CCT towers, causing Nora to cover her ears.

"We're changing our mission." Jaune said, jogging towards their form of transportation.

"Ren, we'll visit that village another ti- wait... what are you doing here?"

"You're late." Evans snickered, spinning White Knuckle Ride around with one finger inserted in the 2nd hole in his right hand while sitting with one foot lifted on his seat, lifting his knee up to his chin. "You just gonna stand there? Or are we gonna kick some Grimm ass?"

_Louis's POV_

Ringing and the blaring of the city alarms was all I could hear as I saw stars when I tried to open my eyes.

My body felt numb, as if the train hand shifted it's whole weight on top of me.

"Ugh..." I groaned. "That... was more painful then I imagined..."

Wait... why does my voice sound muffled and dampened?

"Tell me about it..." Yang said from somewhere with a distant voice, as I felt weight shifting on top of me.

Grimm?

When my vision cleared, the first thing I saw was red as I felt it brush over my face.

Blood?!

"Ugh... my head." Ruby's muffled voice said. "Remind me not to do that ag- GAH!"

"Ruby? What is it?" Blake's voice asked.

"I felt wind brush past my thighs! Grimm?!"

"Uhh... Ruby..." Weiss said, probably pointing in her direction.

"Heh... pretty sneaky sis." Yang teased, chuckling slightly as she was still recovering from the crash.

...

I heard Ruby squeal, before the red was lifted of my face and I realized what happened.

"Ehehehe... sorry Louis..." Ruby said meekly, cheeks as bright as her hood while she scratched the back of her head with one hand, then pulled the front of her skirt with both as she looked away, unable to meet my eyes.

"It's alright." I said as I got up, cheeks just as red as hers, and dust myself off and looked in the opposite direction.

With a cramped space like that? I'm not surprised we woke up in that kind of a predicament.

Heck, I'm surprised I still have my limbs.

That glacier should've shattered and sent blade like shrapnel that would rip us to shreds.

"Eh ehm..." Blake faked a cough with a grin as Yang smirked.

Well, at least she doesn't wanna kill me

...Yet.

Though by the look she gave me, something tells me we're gonna have a 'Heart to Heart' after we got back.

I'll take that.

"Right... We have bigger problems to worry about." I said, pointing towards the audience that's starting to gather around us.

"Oh no..." Ruby gasped, putting both hands to her mouth.

As if on queue, the black King Taijitu head burst out through the ground, rampaging through the city blocks, causing massive havoc, while several other Grimm as they started to spread around the city as they crawled out from the gaping hole.

"Go time." I claimed, extending Bloody Berry again to my side. "Let's do this."

...

We gathered at the city plaza, where the civilians have mostly evactuated.

The black mass of Grimm surrounded us like a sea of black, standing by and awaiting us to make the first move.

Everybody looked uneasily at the ammount of Grimm they were facing, wondering if this is the end of them.

...

"Relax." I reassured. "We've improved immensely as a team, I believe we've got this."

"Relax? How co-" Yang asked, only to be cut short when the Black King Taijitu head let out a deafening roar, and the Grimm surrounding us started to rapidly advance.

Ruby jumped forward, embedded her scyhte into the ground, and with the help of her sembelance, rid a pack that contained multiple Beowolves by spinning around like a red merry go round.

Yang was next to go, launching herself up with a jump, only to land on on a Grimm that launched her up even higher, and rained hell on the Grimm below by her dust charged shots from Ember Celica, unable to notice the shadows that were rapidly advancing to her from behind.

With a deafening screech, the Nevermores slammed their talons into Yang, causing her to fall at a rapid pace to the ground.

"Weiss!" I shouted. "Glyph Yang!"

Weiss nodded and did as I commanded, breaking Yang's fall if only slightly.

I did a vertical slash, getting some Beowolves off Blake's back as the blade of Gambol Shroud clicked and rotated back, enabling her to fire accurately into the smaller Grimm that was running up the stairs.

"Gah!" Weiss shouted, using glyphs to rapidly increase her barrage of attacks as she leapt from one glyph to another.

Ruby then stopped in front of the King Taijitu, being the biggest Grimm of all we've faced so far.

"_Now stop_!" I shouted with a smirk.

Everybody cocked their heads (Including the Grimm) confused at what I was saying.

"Stop?! What do-" Blake protested.

"_Hammertime_!" Evans sounded off from somewhere.

Nora then came flying in, and slammed her massive hammer on the giant snake's head, causing it to fall down with a thundering slam that shattered the ground beneath it.

"Right on time." I chuckled as team JNPR and Evans landed on the opposite side of the streets.

Team JNPR just looked bewildered on how many Grimm there are running lose, and Phyrra was the one who snapped them out of their thoughts.

"Lets move!" She commanded, and advanced.

"Great to see you old friend." I said, pushing off an Ursa who was trying to put it's full weight on top of me.

"Started the party without me?" Evans smirked, landing beside me and bashed the Ursa in the head.

"Meh, aren't you always late?" I asked, shaking Bloody Berry violently to charge it up.

"Touche." he chuckled.

"How's D?" I asked, a diagonal slash causing a thin line of compressed air to travel at rapid speeds, getting rid of Grimm in a wide, cone like area in front of me.

"Still out of commision." Evans shrugged off, using both his hands, threw a flurry of jabs down on another Ursa that was approaching us from behind. "Just how hard did you hit him?"

"For laying his dirty hands on Ruby and giving us trouble?" I asked, bashing the skull of a Beowolf with my hilt as I charged Bloody Berry back up again. "Not hard enough. Good thing these Grimm can work as compensation to unwind huh?"

"Point taken." Evans rolled his eyes. "By the way, move back a bit."

"Right now?!"

"Yeah, right now." Evans said, before throwing his elbow back to the gut of a Beowolf, and his fist followed afterwards towards its face, knocking the Grimm unconscious.

"Your call." I said, jumping back as far away as I could.

"Raging... Storm!"

A torrent of electricity sparked from his knuckle dusters, enveloping the Grimm in a wide radius and killing them of in a massive area of effect.

"Woah!" Yang yelled, as her golden locks spiked up into an afro. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry." Evans smirked, putting both hands to his mouth.

"Bahahaha! You look ridiculous." I roared with laughter.

"EVAAAANSS!" Yang yelled out, annoyed as her eyes turned crimson.

"We've got more incomming!" Blake pointed, as all of Evans's spikes popped out.

"You sure you wanna keep wasting your dust like that?" I asked as I approached Evans.

"Don't worry, I've got a couple more." He reassured, though it didn't convince me.

"Define a couple more..."

"20 ish..?"

"So.. enough for about... 3 more attacks like that."

...

"Pretty much."

"Thought so." I deadpanned, before throwing 2 more air compressed dust slashes at a few more Grimm, cutting them down like ribbons. "Don't waste it all here, you gotta save some dust for the Vytal tournament remember?"

"Fine..." he replied as the inner circles turned off, indicating it's out of power.

...

Phyrra looked over to Jaune where an Ursa had apparently landed behind him, as he turned ever so slowly around to face it.

"Ohoohookay... you're first huh, no that's fine..." Jaune muttered.

With a loud scream, Jaune swung Crocea Mors with all his might, embedding multiple marks on the Ursa's neck.

It stood still for a moment, before falling backwards with a thundering boom, before completely laying still.

Phyrra can't help but put her hands together to her cheek and blush, seeing how her boyfriend had improved so fast.

Her eyes closed shut while her heart fluttered and there was butterflies in her stomach.

_SLAM_

_THUD_

Phyrra then turned around to see a dead Alpha Beowolf.

"Come on, I know he's your boyfriend now and all, but can we please concentrate?" I huffed, shaking my weapon violently as it ran out of juice. "Great, now I'm starting to sound like Weiss."

"Ahaha... Sorry." Phyrra blushed as she put both hands behind her back with a wide grin.

There was a low rumble as Atlesian ships started to come in from all sides, surrounding the city block.

The new modelled Atlesian Knights dropped down, securing the perimeter of every Grimm that stands in their way.

There was a low hum as a specific bullhead caught our attention.

"Out of the way junior! We've got it from here." Coco yelled from their designated bullhead as the doors hissed open, bringing along team CFVY and Professor Port.

"Finally." Evans said through heavy pants as his 4th spike popped out. "Took them long enough. Feels so much faster in..." Evans stopped himself when he remembered we're in public, even catching a dirty glare from me.

"Yeah..." I replied as I retracted Bloody Berry, and jumped backwards to let team CFVY take over. "Ah well, let's let them take over shall we?"

"Seconded..." Evans gave a relieved sigh as he jumped by my side to avoid the debris that was flying out of control as Yatsuashi's blade struck the ground with malevolent force. "I'm tired as fuck."

Fox then advanced forward, throwing a barrage of slashed with his tonfas on an Alpha Ursa, and after a bit of juggling, used both hands to push it behind enemy lines, where it exploded into a mass of spikes.

"Hey!" I shouted as one spike shot past me, causing Fox to shrug.

"Good hustle fox." Coco smirked, as she grabbed Fox's ass.

...

"You just destroyed my favourite clothing store... Prepare to die." Coco said, lowering her shades to her nose.

Reeling her feet back, she kicked the towering Alpha Beowolf in the nuts.

"Hey! Easy on th- I felt that!" Evans said as he crossed his legs.

"Have you watched Black Lagoon?" I asked. "That maid scene with the blade and the balls takes the cake man."

"How do you even-" Evans tried to ask, turning his view to Yatsuhashi and Fox, but was cut off.

"Just don't look in her direction when she fights." Yatsuhashi laughed, swinging his oversized cleaver.

"Riiiight..." I deadpanned as Coco turned her seemingly high class handbag into a minigun.

Seriously... how did that get past airport security?

...

...

"Hoho! I still got it!" Professor Port said in a jolly tune, while he fired some shots with Professor Oobleck by his side.

"Still as narcissictic as ever I see." Oobleck replied, igniting some Grimm with his flamethrower.

"Why don't you just build yourself a gloryhole?" Evans asked sarcastically as he landed behind them.

"Oi!" I chuckled, hoping Evans would remain unpunished after that remark.

"My my, a man cave filled with relics of my past achievements? That sounds like a dream coming true."

Both my hands went to my face as I tried not to throw up.

"I shall stuff as much trophies as I can into this so called gloryhole. Good idea, Mr Evans!"

I looked over to Evans to see his face went green as well.

"And this is why you keep your mouth shut." I said, after gulping down the mass that was building in my throat.

"Okay... maybe I didn't think that one through." Evans admitted, causing me to roll my eyes.

Gloryholes don't exist in Remenant. Noted.

...

...

"... you've shown the errors of my ways. Hey, hey! Watch the hat!" Torchwick ranted as he got arrested.

I took one last glance at him, and prayed that Neo got my note.

It would be bad if it ended up torn and soaked in the washing machine or something.

"Huh... You aren't half bad." Mercury said after escorting Torchwick to the Atlesian ship, patting Evans's back.

I looked over to them, hoping the Merc with a mouth (Damnit Yang!) isn't stupid enough to do kill him in public.

"Thanks... I think?" Evans said, though by the nervous look he was giving me, he was holding his breath, though on the outside he looked composed.

Looks like he has it covered... for now.

I gazed over to Emerald, who were chatting with my team, exchanging formalities and gratitudes, congratulating themselves for a job well done. Cinder... was nowhere to be seen, probably for good reason.

"Oh, Louis! I believe you've seen them from Ms Goodwitch's sparring classes, but this is Emerald." Yang introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you." I said, extending a hand. "Louis."

"Louis? No last names? First names?"

"Nope, just Louis." I smiled innocently. "Emerald Sustrai, I believe?"

"Have we met?" Her eyes widened as her voice went slightly higher in pitch.

"Just admiring from afar." I chuckled. "I gotta love your combat style and weapons. I would ask of your sembelance as well but... that would be no fun."

"U-uh... right...ahaha..." Emerald nervously chuckled, as sweat started to appear on her forehead.

"Welp, can't wait to see you in the Vytal festival then." I smirked as I let go of her sweaty palms.

"Uh... what was that?" Weiss asked, raising her brow.

"Nothing." I replied, as I walked off and into our ride, in courtesy of Atlesian Military personel.

Just a pawn... huh?

The team shrugged it off, and when they saw the sun touching the horizon, thought that it was a good time to head back.

...

...

...

"...I'd suggest training for the tournament but.. I think we have that covered by this point."

"So then..." Blake faltered off.

"Uhh.. time for bed?"

A chorus of agreements erupted from the girls as they got up from the ledge that was overviewing the city.

Volume 2 ended... just like that huh?

Just like that, a chapter ends, and another begins.

There wasn't much to be done in this volume, however, if D wasn't the only one to make it through, then we'd have to be careful from now on.

There's no telling where the others are...

Not to mention it's volume 3...

The volume where...

...

The fall of Beacon will happen soon, wether we like it or not.

"Louis?" Ruby asked, as I didn't budge.

...

"Louis?" Ruby repeated.

"Oh? Yeah, I uh... I... I'm coming."

"Uhm... you okay?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." I lied as I got up.

"You seem a little... pale."

"Probably just drained from the fight, that's all."

_Upon arriving at the dorms..._

Vrrrr

Vrrrr

"Louis?" Ruby asked, raising a brow.

"Huh?" I asked, glancing at my scroll.

"You gonna get in or what?" Yang asked as she held the door.

"I need to go somewhere for a bit, you guys can hit the hay without me."

"Oh..." Ruby muttered, looking upset.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll be back." I reassured.

"Okay." She said quietly as she yawned as Yang closed the doors.

...

...

I glanced at my scroll once more.

"_D's awake._"


	21. Chapter 21

"Umpphhh..." Derrick groaned from his chair. "Whrr haam hi?"

What happened?

He was sure he had Ruby in my arms and...

He was sure he tasted... strawberries...

So why does his mouth taste like recycled plastic?

"You might wanna take that off him first..." Someone suggested.

"Right." another said as Derrick felt something being taken from his mouth.

"Ugh..." One groaned. "Gross!"

"Nasty shit, where did you even get it from?"

"Borrowed it from Scarlet from team SSSN."

"What is that man into- Nevermind, don't answer that."

The voices sound muffled with all the ringing in his ears but...

These voices... Derrick thought. They sound... somewhat familiar.

"He's still half conscious."

"Well, you did hit him... pretty dang hard with that tray."

"Would he be able to answer proper-"

"Ugh... Psycho Smile is not happy, not happy at all." Derrick said as his vision cleared as 2 shadowy sillouethes in pure clarity stood there as a bright line shone in his face.

The sillouethes looked at each other, and laughed aloud.

"A- are you fucking kidding me?!" Louis chortled hysterically.

"Y-y-you didn't give that name to Cinder did you?" Evans said, putting both his hands to his mouth.

Derrick just looked at us confused. "Psycho Smile is my name... fear me, for I am terror itself."

The two looked at each other, and burst out laughing once more.

"Y-Y-YOU'RE FUCKING K-KIDDING ME RIGHT?! YOU USED YOUR STEAM IGN AS YOUR REAL NAME?! WAHAHAHAH!" Louis roared with laughter.

...

...

"What do you mean?" Derrick looked at us, confused. "Psycho Smile is my name."

"Come on man, HA! WOooh, d-drop the act." Evans chuckled, wiping the tear from his eye and turning his scroll's flashlight off. "You have a horrible sense of humor, and that hasn't changed for the 2 semesters we've been here."

...

...

"Psycho Smile is my name." Derrick repeated. "And you are my enemies."

...

"Wait..." Evans faltered.

"No, your name is Derrick." Louis reassured.

"Der...rick?" He asked.

"Yeah." Louis said, raising a brow as he looked to Evans.

"What kind of dumb name is that? I would call myself errick, the D is silent."

"Oh, your D is anything but silent." Evans stated. "But seriously, you can drop the act now Derrick."

"How much did you tell them?" Louis asked with a cold tone.

"I told you, my name is Psycho Sm-"

WHACK

_SLAM_

...

"Dude!" Evans complained. "What did you do that for?!" He asked as he held Louis back.

"Something isn't right, was trying to fix him." Louis said calmly after shaking his knuckles.

"Fix him?! What do you think he is? An old TV?! He's not a delicate piece of technology that needs a little bit of violence to fix.

Here! Use my knuckle dusters instead."

"Uuurgghhh..." Derrick groaned.

...

"See? He's still conscious."

"L-Louis? E-E-Evans?" Derrick mumbled as light filled his eyes, along with a few trickles of blood from a newly opened wound. "Why does my head hurt?"

"And I fixed him too." Louis huffed as he rubbed his knuckles. "Nailed it."

"Derrick?" Evans asked as he grabbed a towel to wipe the blood from his face.

"Yeah, who else would I be?"

"Oh I don't know, fucking Psycho Smile?" Louis chortled.

"Why would I be using my Steam name? That's dumb."

He then struggled as he tried to lift his arms to his head.

"And why am I tied up?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Louis asked.

"Uhh..." Derrick muttered as he appeared deep in thought. "I... remembered going to that mountain trip with you guys... and then... nothing?"

"Right, he was too busy playing either Fate Grand Order or Battle Cats in the rear seats." Evans pointed out.

"Too busy to listen to us screaming for our lives too apparently." Louis facepalmed.

"Nothing else?" Evans asked.

"No... nothing else." Derrick admitted as he thought hard.

"Great..." Louis mumbled. "Back to square one, with extra dead weight."

"Fuck off. Can we like... untie me first?" Derrick asked.

"Right..." Evans mumbled as he walked up to D.

_After untying Derrick..._

_Louis's POV_

"Why'd you guys even tie me up in the first place?" He asked as he rubbed his wrists which has red marks all over.

"Look, You're not gonna believe us if we told you where we are right now." Evans started.

"Huh...?" Derrick asked as he looked around. "We're in a dorm room... but this doesn't look like anything like our dorm rooms..."

"That's because it's not." I replied.

"So... where are we exactly?"

"You have to promise me you won't freak ou-"

"Louis... you there?" A meek and cheeky voice asked from outside.

FUCK!

What was Ruby doing here?!

Without second thoughts I slammed by body on the back of the door as the black haired leader was partly opening it.

"Uhh..." Ruby muttered from outside. "Louis?"

"Yeah Ruby, I'm here." I replied.

'You forgot to lock the door?' Evans mouthed to me.

'What are you talking about, it's your dorm room you klutz!' I mouthed back.

"Wait... Ruby?" Derrick asked as he raised a brow.

"Anyways, what do you need Ruby?"

"It's been about 2 hours that you've been away, and the rest of the team couldn't really sleep so... we were wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner?"

"Yeah Ruby, I'll meet you in the cafeteria so-"

"Ruby... as in Ruby Rose?!" Derrick asked as his eyes shot wide open, and got up.

"EVANS! HOLD HIM DOWN!"

Evans complied without a second thought, grabbkng Derrick, preventing him from ever meeting her.

For extra reassurance, Evans tapped on his scroll so the doors clicked and locked shut.

"Evans?!"

"Ruby, get out of here! Just get something to takeaway something for me!"

"Louis! Evans? Everything okay in there?!"

"Yeah we've got it under control!" Evans replied.

"Go now!" I shouted.

Putting my ears to the doors, I heard her bursting into rose petals.

Whew...

...

...

"So..." Derrick muttered after calming down. "We're in Remenant..."

"Yeap." Louis sighed.

"Pretty much." Evans said.

...

"We're in Remenant..." Derrick repeated.

"You said that already." Evans pointed out.

"Anyways..." I sighed. "You've been on the bad guy's team for a while now, even planting their virus in for them."

"What?! I missed Volume 1 and 2?! Bullshit!"

"Hey, we should be the ones saying bullshit, you've been exposing them to info about our world even though you don't remember anything about it." I growled, shooting him a glare.

"But it looks like not much slipped." Evans pointed out. "If it did, she would've gone down to the vault about now, and claimed the maiden's powers, so probably he hasn't revealed the plot at Vol 3 yet."

"Ugh..." Derrick groaned as he held his head. "I really don't remember any of this."

"Probably Torchwick used his brain scrambler." Evans pointed out.

"It's a possibility..." I sighed.

"What do we do now though?" Evans asked.

"What can we do?" I replied. "We'll just have to keep going."

"Also D." I said as I glared at him. "You will not put your lolicon and or siscon hands on either Ruby or Neo. Coupish?"

"How did you-"

"Don't think I didn't look through your browser history."

"Not to mention the sounds we hear passing by your room." Evans pointed out.

"Hey..." He mumbled as he crossed his arms. "We all have preferences."

"I didn't hear a yes."

"Okay..." He grumbled. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"I...promise."

"Good..." Evans sighed.

"Let's just... play it cool alright?"

The two others nodded as Evans unlocked the doors.

Without much else to do, I decided to head back to team RWBY's room.

_Later..._

My hands trembled as my hands reached for the doorknob.

Just how much info did he slip out...

And what would Cinder and her goons do now...?

Things are becoming slightly unpredictable, and that's fine if it's Vol 1 or 2 but... If it's 3...

...

"No use overthinking about it right now." I sighed and opened the doors. "I'll just... call it a night and think more about this tommorow..."

"Louis!" Ruby greeted cheerfully as she burst into rose petals from her bed and towards the doors.

"Ruby." I smiled as I greeted back. "Sorry I couldn't make it to dinner guys."

"It's alright," Blake said as she flipped a page on her book. "There wasn't anything good anyways."

"By the way, why aren't you guys asleep? I thought you all said you were dead tired."

"Well... I guess we're just waiting for the food to settle in right now." Yang said as she laid on her back while playing with her scroll.

"Oh, speaking of food... here!" Ruby said as she handed out the packaging from behind her back.

"Thanks, I'll pay you back la-"

"No need." The leader said cheerfully.

"Uh..." I muttered as I looked to Yang, who shrugged back.

"O...kay... thank you Ruby."

"No problem." She said as her cheeks flushed, and leapt up to her bed.

"By the way." Yang said. "You're not heading back this semester break either?"

"Nope." I replied as I unboxed my bento.

"Why?" Yang asked, raising a brow. "I can get why Weiss and Blake doesn't want to head back,"

Do you now?

"They stay quite far away."

Figures, you don't.

"but you?"

"Nah, I think I'll be staying in the dorms this semester break as well, I have stuff to do."

"Define stuff." Weiss asked, raising her brow from her beauty sleep.

"Sorry, did I wake you up princess?" I said in a low chuckle. "It's nothing you guys should concern yourselves with."

"Yeah, sort of, and why?"

"Weiss is right. Whenever you said we shouldn't be concerned, it's definitely stuff we should be concerned with." Ruby said from her bunk, poking her head down.

"How can we help?" Blake asked as she looked up from her book.

As if they could help...

"It's... training."

"Training?" Yang asked as she looked down from her scroll.

"Yeah." I replied as I finished my food.

"I'm not as good as you guys, and probably will never be unless I trained on my own. Gotta train for the Vytal festival, am I right?" I yawned as I stretched my arms.

When I opened my eyes, I found the 4 exchanging uneasy looks at each other.

"What?"

"It's just that... we've been talking about it..." Blake said.

"And..." Yang continued.

"And...?"

"Well, we're thinking you... sit this one out." Weiss finished.

...

Did I just heard them wrong?

"Excuse me?"

"D-don't take this the wrong way." Ruby trembled from her bunk, sensing the rage in my tone. "B-but we don't really want to lose..."

"So, victory is all that matters to you?"

"N-no!" Ruby quickly stated. "But..."

"You can't even keep up with us in terms of team attacks, or when we spar, what makes you think you could have a chance in fighting in the tournament?" Weiss asked.

They're not wrong.

In terms of combat experience, I've lost by a milestone.

But...

If I don't participate...

I won't be able to mitigate the damage done.

"One month." I clenched my fists and grit my teeth.

"I beg your pardon?" Weiss asked, raising a brow.

"Give me time until semester break ends, test me then."

"One month?" Yang asked. "You can't even catch up with us in one semester!"

"And you don't have a sembelance yet." Blake pointed out.

"Like I said, just give me the required time, and then test me to see if I'm worthy then. If I am, I won't take no for an answer."

The 4 girls exchanged uneasy looks once more, and then settled on a slight nod.

"Okay..." Ruby muttered. "But don't push yourself too hard."

"No promises." I said as I pulled the sheets. "Go get some sleep Ruby, Yang, you're both heading back tommorow remember?"

"Ugh, okay dad." Yang rolled her eyes as she pulled her sheets.

"Zwei, lights." I commanded, as the team dog barked in response, and leapt.

...

...

"I wasn't finished reading my book you know." Blake mumbled.

"Oh shut up, you have nightvision." I chuckled.

...

"Doesn't mean I prefer to read this way..."

"Goodnight, Blake."

_The next day..._

"Alright, I'll see you guys when Vytal starts!" Ruby waved with Yang as they got on their bullhead to head back to their house back in Patch.

"Hey Ruby," I started.

"Hm?" She asked as she turned around with Zwei in her backpack.

"Send your mom my regards."

"Of course I will!" She cheered. "I'll tell them about Weiss and Blake too!"

The engines on the bullhead roared as the doors lifted, and clicked shut.

...

...

"Alright, onto training." I sighed with a smile.

"You sure you don't need our help?" Blake asked. "If it helps we could-"

"Thank you Blake, but I'm fine doing this on my own."

Well, I got Evans with me, so I technically won't be alone.

"Alright." The heiress sighed. "Best of luck. We'll be in our dorms if you need us."

"I know, just like last semester break." I smiled as I rolled my eyes. "I'll be sure you're the first to know when I'm ready."

_Later..._

"You know, when you said you wanted to train, this was not what I had in mind." Evans admitted as we walked on a certain familiar looking ledge with launch pads.

"A month in the Emerald Forest. What could go wrong?" I shrugged.

"A lot of things." Evans muttered. "Considering the thing they faced on the cliff were Nevermores and Deathstalkers."

"Hey come on." I chuckled as I tapped the 4 digit code on my scroll. "This is Vytal for the tournament."

"Yang really got to your head now didn't she?"

...

"Yeah, I guess she did." I replied as I looked over the ledge to the dense green foliage that lays below us.

"Alright then." He sighed as he tapped the 4 digits on his locker as well. "If you're sure this would help, I'm in."

"Too bad D couldn't join though." I sighed back. "He's just gonna break his legs without an aura."

"The idea of him flailing his arms like a cartoon character isn't any less amusing though." Evans chuckled.

We were so invested in the idea of camping for a month that we didn't notice the shadow that crept up behind us.

"And where do you gentlemen think you're going?" The person asked as he grabbed our shoulders, causing us to jump and yelp.

"U-uh... nowhere Professor?" I said with a nervous laugh.

"Y-yeah, what he said." Evans gulped.

"You two are about to sneak out to go to the Emerald forest, weren't you?" Ozpin asked as he raised his brow.

Me and Evans looked at each other, and with a defeated sigh, we both nodded, knowing this plan was busted.

...

"How long are you planning to stay?"

"A... A month." I replied.

"Hmm." He said, rubbing his chin. "The whole semester break? Are you certain?"

"Yeah..."

...

"Well," The old man chuckled while sipping his coffee. "I guess I can rearrange re supply drops every half a week or so to aid you in your cause."

...

...

"Wait..." I asked, raising a brow.

"We're not... in trouble?" Evans asked.

"Well, I would be somewhat concerned if you were to go into the Emerald Forest alone, however, with the 2 of you, I believe that you could handle low level Grimm such as Beowolves and Ursa's. You've proven that during the breach on the wall. Just be sure to avoid places where higher level Grimm lurk."

"Okay..." I smiled. "Thanks for the tip."

"And you're sure you don't need any assistance?" Ozpin asked, raising his brow. "I could always appoint a teacher to guide you in-"

"Thank you but no thank you Professor." I said politely. "I believe, this is a journey we have to do on our own in order to advance, improve, overcome, and break some limits."

"I...see..."

"Okay." Evans said, snapping out of my thoughts. "We should head out now, before it gets dark and fighting Grimm becomes harder."

"I'll be monitoring you, but don't expect backup to arrive so soon."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I waved off.

"You would be a bad headmaster if you weren't." Evans smiled. "Thank you Professor."

With that, we crouched on the launch pads,

Prepared to get launched as we stretched a little.

"On your marks..." Ozpin said as he took out his oversized scroll.

I feel like we're forgetting something...

"Get se-"

_SLAM_

_SLAM_

_THUD_

We both looked back and saw Ozpin crushed underneath both our lockers, with his arms sticking out.

I looked to Evans. "Dude... I think we've killed him." 'earlier then he's supposed to' I mouthed afterwards.

"I'm alright." Ozpin sounded from beneath, muffled but otherwise okay... somehow.

"Are you sure?" Evans asked, as we rushed over to his side.

His arm that was holding his mug of coffee that somehow remained untouched gave a thumbs up.

"Chibi?" I asked.

"Probably." Evans shrugged as the locker doors popped open.

"Rose Nasty?" He asked as I took out 2 silvery katana hilts, quite different from the semi rust covered Bloody Berry, with crimson, metallic guards.

"Yeah." I replied as I tied both hilts to my belt. "Been working on it all semester. Didn't think I was gonna stick to Bloody Berry forever did you?"

"I thought you were." Evans shrugged as he took out a box of highly saturated dust spikes, and stuffed roughly 30 into his brown duffel bag.

"I mean, sure it's a nice weapon and all, but it loses power after a few good swings, it's impractical."

"And Rose Nasty is different... How?"

"Charges after 2 quick shakes or flicks instead of 10 violent ones, and it's definitely longer in terms of its blade length. Not to mention it's more of a dual wield style, which is better in both defense and offense. Also they're definitely lighter in terms of weight, so I can swing them faster."

"Do you even know how to dual wield?"

"Nope." I smirked. "But that's why we're training in the Emerald Forest in the first place."

"You sure that's wise? You don't wanna ask Blake for the basics?"

"Nah, I'm good." I stated. "I think..."

...

"See you soon Professor Ozpin!" I shouted as I got launched.

SWISH

"Thanks for aiding us!" Evans waved off.

_SWISH_

"Hmm..." Ozpin smiled as he sipped more coffee. "They're just like young miss Brawnwen and miss Rose back then..."


	22. Chapter 22

"Rae Rae... can we stop for a moment and take a break~?" Panted the woman in a white hood as she patted her stockings for bugs.

"Don't ever... call me... that." Raven scowled with an annoyed tone as she brushed a branch from her face as they trudged through the thick forest.

"But.. I'm tired!" Summer whined through ragged breaths.

Why did she come along then?!

It hasn't even been 2 hours, and she's been complaining nonstop.

Raven had warned her that she wanted to go to the Emerald Forest to train, not to go sightseeing. She thought she made that clear!

Yet, the white rose had insisted that she'd tag along, because she was '_t__he world's most responsible super partner/ bestie (Raven doubted that)'_ in the world!

_Gah!_ Raven screamed in her head. _I should have never told him about my plans! _Then again, it was the job of the headmaster to inform their team leader regarding their team member's personal agendas.

Especially one that concerns a student to thread upon the Grimm in the Emerald Forest for a full month of training.

She should've just snuck into the Emerald Forest alone.

"Then you should've stayed with my idiotic brother and that blonde bastard."

"Hey!" Summer pouted as she glared at Raven.

"What? I'm just saying the truth."

"They're not useless! They just... need some time to adjust to the team, that's all."

"That's not what my eyes and ears told me."

"Well what do you expect when Tai decided to trick Qrow into wearing a skirt on the first day of class? They just... got off on the wrong foot, that's all...'

Raven puffed out a breath of air as she stopped in her tracks as they broke into a clearing, and settled down.

Summer looked relieved and her gaze snapped upwards, where she saw that there was a half mossy boulder not to tall to climb, about twice the height of herself.

The moss only covered the bottom half though, and flatly chisled on top, not like Summer had any complaints if it was completely covered, she can always wash off her white hood later on.

She bent her legs, and, with a swift leap, she landed gracefully atop of the rock formation on both feet, and sat down as she sighed in relief.

"Ah~ What a lovely day." Summer whistled as she took off her ivory coloured hood, and looked towards the cloudless skies as the sun bathed her pale, alabaster skin as she leaned back, using both arms for support.

Seriously, how was Summer elected as group leader?

Out of anybody in team STRQ, only she has the experience of being a true leader.

With both of her parents being leaders of the Brawnwen Tribe, they could just teach them the basics of combat, not to mention the ammount of training she has commited herself to taking the throne, seriously why did she even have to enroll at Beacon at all?

And to make matters worse, they decided that just because she was a _girl _and thought that she can't take care of herself, and coincidentally had a twin brother in the form of the laziest, dimwitted and most utterly useless brother in the form of Qrow, that he had to enroll at Beacon as well.

Out of anyone, he had to tag along to apparently, _take care of her, _as her parents put it.

Well, he's been doing a very good job at that, what happened in reality so far was actually vice versa.

"Rae Rae..." Summer called from atop the boulder.

"What?" Raven asked as she took out a box of cigarrete from her breastpocket, and popped one into her mouth.

"You really shouldn't do that y'know, it's not good for your health."

"I'll do what I want, when I want." Raven ignored the petite leader, and took out her metallic lighter which has her insignia on it's sides, flicked the cap off, and lit up her tobacco stick.

Summer just pouted and huffed in return, but did no further effort to stop Raven.

...

"Hey Rae Rae." Summer asked as she looked towards the skies and leaned back once more.

"Hm?" Raven asked as she sipped the contents of her canister. Not water of course, the Brawnwen family household trains their children to take on alchohol at a young age. Being at Beacon changed that a bit, unable to drink as she pleases, but she had her reserves hidden in places within the dorm.

"Why do you like Tai Yang?"

_Hurk_

_Cough _

_Cough_

"I do not like that-!"

Fwomp

"Oh my god! You're on fire!" Summer exclaimed, then groaned. "Ugh, I'm starting to sound like Tai... Uhh, stop, drop and roll!"

She then proceeded to pour her own bottle of water to try and douse the fire out.

...

_Hiss_

The scent of burnt hair and skin filled the air.

Gone was the knee length hair she never cut off, replaced by an uneven, disheveled mess.

Luckily, it seems like only the back of her hair was affected, her brows and front fringe had somehow remained mostly untouched by the pillar of flame that erected from the ground.

Raven gave a low growl from her throat while her left eye twitched "Summer Rose..."

"Ehehehehe..." Summer scratched the back of her hair. "Sorry Rae Rae, but this is why you shouldn't smoke and drink at the same time!"

Somehow Raven managed to retain herself from choking the red haired woman on the spot, and instead just heaved a heavy sigh.

With a twist of her wrist, she took out her odachi with one hand, and grabbed the back of her hair with another.

"Woah woah woah! What do you think you're doing?!" Summer complained.

"What do you mean? It's just my hair." Raven replied calmly. "It'll grow back eventually."

"Yeah, but it'll look like poop if you just cut it in a diagonal line like that."

"Then... what do you suggest? I'm not going to a salon, if that's what you had in mind."

"No no! Only I can see the back of your head, since it's technically my fault, I'll help."

Raven grimmaced for a moment, before letting out a long sigh. She then turned her back to Summer, and sat on a rock, while a short snikt can be heard, as Summer unsheathed her dagger.

"How do you even fight Grimm with that toothpick?" Raven asked.

"I just have to get up close and personal." Summer replied, as she started to trim Raven's once thigh long hair.

"Yeah, thank you captain obvious, but that's not what I'm asking." Raven said sarcastically as she looked towards the ground.

"Then...?"

"How'd you survive so far with that kind of fighting style, all while avoiding claws, teeth, pinchers, and other forms of attack from various Grimm? Fighting them up close isn't always gonna work y'know."

"My Sembelance, remember?"

"Right..."

Summer had the sembelance of speed, allowing her to weave into enemies with ease, even at close range. The way the white rose had explained it, it's as if the world was moving in slow motion, allowing her to carve into pressure points with pinpoint accurary at point blank range.

"Hmm... my turn. Why do you like Tai Yang?"

Raven's cheeks betrayed her, as it started to burn bright red. Not that it was visible to Summer with her thick hair in the way, as she looked at the skies above, the sun casting a long shadow that kept Summer comfortable in the shade of her partner.

"I-I'm not-" Raven stammered.

"Rae Rae..."

...

...

"Was it that obvious?" She sighed

"Well, to me, your great and awesome team leader and partner, it is!"

Raven raised an eyebrow.

...

...

"Other then the fact that you were always stealing glances during class, looking like a goldfish."

...

"And lunch."

...

"And when he's sleeping."

...

Raven chortled, and let out a quiet laugh.

"And you're telling me this because... You're my competition?"

Summer didn't answer that, and instead asked. "So...?"

Raven thought for a moment. If this dunderhead thought she was just gonna trust her this easily, she's wrong.

Besides, knowing her cheerful and bubbly attitude, she's gonna blow it up in her face.

And that yellow haired idiot, can never know...

"Not telling." She said as she half turned around, putting a finger to her lips and smirked.

"Aww come on! You can trust me to keep a secre-"

Raven jolted up, and into a stance, causing Summer to sigh as she changed the direction the blade was pointing to the opposite side so that it's tip faced her pinkie, holding it out in front of her as her silver orbs gaze hardened.

She then positioned herself back to back with her crimson eyed partner.

"I guess your hair will have to wait till later..." Summer grumbled, obviously unhappy that she could not finish her partner's hair treatment.

Raven didn't respond, and narrowed her eyes on the shades underneath the trees in front of them as she tightened her grip her on her odachi.

Low growls can be heard around them as Ursai and Beowolves crawled out the dark shades of the dense woods and into the clearing, surrounding the duo in a matter of seconds.

"I got about 10 on my end, how about you?" Raven whispered as the Grimm surrounded them in a circle.

"About the same." Summer replied with a chuckle. "Ready to do this partner?"

"Oh? Is that a challenge I hear?" Raven smirked as she bent both legs, and crouched to a quickdraw posture.

"Well, we all know who's gonna win." Summer snickered.

"On three."

"One..."

The Grimm didn't wait for their jolly competitive countdown though, lunging into action as they bared their claws and fangs, eyes filled with hunger and bloodlust.

Sacred art

One Slash, Deat-

There was a streak of yellow and a glint of silver as a disheveled yellow haired man landed in front of her, and punched the ground, causing spikes of ice to jut out of the ground to her left flank and flash freezing half a dozen Grimm, while another jabbed the air, causing a massive explosion that cleared the remaining few.

"Idiot!" Raven yelled aloud as her hands trembled from her sheath, her grip tightening around the handle of her odachi, which was half drawn out. "I could've killed you!"

"Meh, my aura can take it." Tai laughed off, retracting his silvery gauntlets back into their compacted form.

"It's a sword Tai, it'll still hurt." A deep but familiar voice resounded from behind Raven, causing her lips to twist into a frown of dissapointment as her sorry excuse of a brother had apparently taken Summer's share of Grimm.

"If I could take the fall from our dorm rooms, I'm sure I can take a sword to the torso Qrow." Tai chuckled as he turned around.

"That was your own fault." Summer sighed as she sheated her dagger. "Who told you to sleep in Rae Rae's bed uninvited?"

"Well, she is an attractive individual." Tai said bashfully as he scratched the back of his head with a wide grin across his face. "Though... What happened to your hair?"

Raven felt her cheeks heating slightly at that comment, but didn't dare meet his gaze.

"Is it that bad?" She asked.

"Actually... You look... Prettier with waist length hair." Tai replied as he scratched his chin, admiring the obsidian haired beauty.

Raven's cheeks burnt brighter as she let out a small whimper.

...

"O...ohohoho that's rich!" Qrow exclaimed as he roared with laughter, sheathing his oversized scyhte into its compacted form, and put it behind his back.

"Hey Tai!" Qrow teased with a chuckle. "Looks like the feelings were mutual!"

They both turned around to look at the boulder, which had a huge carving of a heart.

In it: "**R.B x T.Y.X.L**" Was roughly carved out in the middle.

Both their eyes widened, and Raven just wished to punch Qrow, who had a smug smile across his face.

"Never thought you'd return the feelings, Rae Bae." Tai smirked, scratching his cheeks, though his cheeks were in a deep shade of red.

"Wh-wha... I didn't write that!" Raven shouted as she flailed her arms in the air, her voice cracked, rising by an octave.

"Come on sis, you don't have to lie." Qrow chuckled as he took out his flask.

"I d-didn't! I swear!"

Her eyes darted left and right to see that their white caped leader was nowhere in sight, though there were traces of white rose petals trailing towards the forest.

...

...

"SUUUUUUMEEEEERR!"

_A few years later..._

Darkness.

That was all there is.

"Okay, you could open your eyes now." Tai Yang said, taking his hands off her eyes.

Raven blinked once

She blinked twice.

"Is this..?"

"Yeah." Tai answered as he sat down on the patch of grass. "It's where Summer helped us get together."

"Well we would've gotten together eventually. Poor Summer or Qrow couldn't stand by and watch for too long. Either they set us up or I'll break from mental pressure."

A friendly punch was then thrown to Tai's shoulder.

...

"Tai... I..."

"Hm?" Tai asked as he laid on the grass, using his arms as a headrest.

She turned her back to Tai Yang, using hand to scrape away some of the moss that grew on the boulder.

After all this time...

It's still here... Raven sighed internally in relief as she saw the symbol that Summer carved into.

"Why are we here?" She asked.

"Well..." Tai said, a tinge of nervousness in his tone.

Wait... Why does he sound nervous?

We've been dating for about 4 years now.

He never gets nervous at all around me, not anymore.

He has no reason to.

"I... Raven..."

Raven spun around and saw Tai kneeling down on one knee, holding out a box that held a golden ring which had a crimson jewel in the middle.

Putting both hands to her mouth, Raven gasped in disbelief.

"Y-you... Can't be serious?!"

"I am."

"Tai..." Raven grit her teeth as she spun around.

"I told you who I was on the day we started dating, why I enrolled at Beacon."

...

No reply means that she can keep going.

"I...I don't know..."

"Raven.." Tai whispered in her ear, causing her to jolt up in surprise as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I don't care about all that, what matters to me... Is who you are now to me." Tai said, playfully nipping her neck before coming in for a hungry kiss.

"Tai..." Raven drew a sharp breath, and gasped for air.

Tai then spun her around, pushed her, and pinned her to the ground, all while Raven shyly tried to block his vision from seeing her so flustered and meek.

"We... Shouldn't, not here..."

"Why not?"

"This forest is full of Grimm for one."

"It's all the more thrilling, don't you think?" Tai asked.

Raven's gaze snapped back to Tai, to see that Tai had already been stripped of his clothes, showing his solid, chiseled, rock hard abs and the muscular build of a brawler.

"You never gave me an answer." Tai whispered, diving down on her neck once more.

...

"Yes."

"I can't hear you..."

"Yes I'll marry you!"

_Present Day_

"Man, this is not how I imagined it to go." Evans said as he equipped his weapon. "If we die here, I'm blaming you."

"Bring them to the clearing, he said.

I'm sure there couldn't be that many, he said.

Some of them will tire out, I'm sure we can outrun em, he said.

I told you it would've been better if we got cover but noooo..." I replied as I grasped both of the ivory metallic hilts with 2 small black stripes towards the ends, scarlet arm guards that rests on top of the hilt that extends down the butt of the hilt, which leaves a comfortable space for my fingers to twist and rotate. All the way at the end of the hilt, I modified both of them to be detachable, having black leather straps.

I unbuckled them from my sides with a quick jerk, and flung them into action, erecting 2, translucent crimson blades that extended down to my ankles.

"Well, at least we can see them now!" Evans said in his defense as he did fistacuffs with his ivory coloured knuckle dusters, the inner rings on all 8 rings shining bright blaze of teal. "Just in case you hadn't noticed, the shadows were definitely not blending in with their black, natural skin." He sarcastically said.

About 15 Grimm rests in my peripheral vision, ranging from Beowolves, Ursai and Boarbatusks, and they are slowly closing in, not rushing to savour the fear in our eyes.

"Alright, time to see what we can do." I said, flicking the hilt on my right hand so that the blade faces my pinkie's direction.

The Grimm snarled in sync as they lunged forward simulteneously, not sparing a second thought.

I ducked below a Beowolf, with blade in hand, slashed vertically, causing the Beowolf to split in half as it came down with a thundering plop.

The death of their fallen seemed to draw the Beowolves's attention, few coming in from the left, while more charged from the right.

"Louis, jump!"

What?

I looked up, and saw Evans doing a series of twists and flips with his body, before diving down with his fist aimed to the ground.

I did as told, and leaped upwards, while his ground slam caused a small area to explode out in a shower of sparks.

The Beowolves that were charging in howled in pain as they got knocked back, while I dropped safely beside Evans.

"What was that?"

"A move I came up with before we got here."

"You look like a cat trying to land on their feet!" I scowled as I made a cross with Rose Nasty to decapitate an Ursa's head off.

"But it looked cool." Evans snickered as he jumped to a boulder, only to slip on its moss covered plateau.

"Showoff." I scowled.

A wide, vertical slash of hot, pressurised air caused a few more Grimm to fall, while some with thicker bone plated armour got up afterwards.

"Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns." Evans said as he rubbed his rear getting up, finger reaching up to White Knuckle Ride to press his Overdrive button.

"Don't!" I yelled. "You do that now, we won't have enough dust for a month!"

"Tch..." Evans spat as he grit his teeth. "Fine!"

A few more well placed diagonal slashes, along with Evans's spiked jabs were able to chip away at numbers, until there was only 2 Grimm left.

I looked at Evans, and he gave me a nod in return.

Bringing both blades overhead, I waited for the Ursa to charge at me, before bringing both blades down for a swift death.

Evans punched the Beowolf's gut so hard, it caused the Beowolf to rocket through the moss filled boulder, crushing it into smithereens.

"Welp, we definitely improved." I said through heavy breaths, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Yeah... " Evans agreed.

"By the way, was crushing that boulder necesary?" I deadpanned. "I think it's overkill."

"Meh, I'm sure it wasn't important." Evans shrugged off.

...

"Showoff."

**A/N**

**And that's how Yang was made.**

**Sorry this one took a little longer then it usually did, I was discussing with Evans (Yes, we are real people.) On what our Semblances should be, and I was going back and forth on wether or not I should include Team STRQ's bit, or just go into a straight up training montage.**

**It was quite 50/50, and figured I'd like the STRQ's bit better.**


	23. Chapter 23

Weiss's eyes fluttered open. She put one hand to her mouth as she yawned and got up from her bunk. She stretched out lazily and sat upright. After rehydrating her lips with her moist tounge, she looked to her left, and sighed as she glanced to see the sheets had remained unwrinkled and clean.

Huh... Louis got up early...

again...

Her blue eyes then gazed over to Blake's bunk, where it's owner was missing as well.

Her hands made their way to the table, where she picked out her scroll from her drawer, and saw that she had one unread message.

"Weiss,

gone on a date with Sun today, will be gone all day, be back at night,

Yours truly,

Blake."

She sighed again as she plopped back down on her bed, letting her hair spread about like a halo on her bunk.

_This semester break was worse then the last. _She thought with a frown.

It was...

Boring.

With a third, heavy sigh, Weiss put her legs down to the floor, and her silver night gown fell down with a plop.

"Oh well." She said aloud.

Maybe she could contact Phyrra and see if she would like to train toge-

No... probably on a date with Jaune again...

"Gah!" She pulled at her hair, fustrated. "Fine! I'll train on my own!"

She's done it before... why couldn't she do it again?

Yeah... She can do this...

Alone...

...

...

Again...

A fustrated sigh escaped her lips, as she opened her briefcase and took out Myrtenaster.

Vrrrr

Hm?

She went back to her drawer, and checked her scroll.

I wonder who...

Oh, it's Ruby.

What does she-

Her eyes widened.

_A few hours ago..._

_Shift_

In the Emerald Forest, 2 certain individuals are taking their jobs...

Very...

Very...

Seriously.

...

...

...

"_Take..._"

_Slash_

"_On..._"

Slash

"_Me..._" Louis sang as he slashed upwards onto a growling Ursa's chest. The Ursa then fell with a thundering thud.

"Take on me!" Evans hummed as he threw a barrage of punches onto a Beowolf's knee, which howled in pain.

"Take..."

_Slash_

_"Me..."_

_Slash_

_"On..." _Louis hummed as he climbed onto another Ursa's back, and with Rose Nasty, crossed his swords and decapitated it's head from it's body, then flicked his hilts twice to charge it up.

_"Take on me!" _Evans sang as he uppercuted the Beowolf, whose body fell back lifeless after twitching for a second or two.

_"I'll..."_

_Slash_

_"Be..."_

_Slash_

_"Gone..." _

_"In a month or two!" _Evans and Louis sang in sync, as Evans's hand's locked around an Ursa Major's waist, making it unable to move, and Louis thrust both of Rose Nasty's crimson blades through it's head.

The beast whimpered and twitched for a bit, before it's eyes went dark and it stood still. With a quick twist, Louis then took his blades out of it's thick skull, giving them a quick flick to get rid of any excess blood as the two walked away from the various corpses Grimm.

"Score for Louis, I'm up one." Louis chuckled.

"Where did you learn to count? We're even! Evans snickered back as he lazily threw a soft punch on Louis's shoulder.

As they walked into a small clearing in the forest their hands connected with a brofist, the ground shook as their prey behind them fell down with a thundering boom that echoed throughout the forest.

The two roared with laughed as they grabbed their bags that were resting by a huge tree which stood in the middle, and took a sip out of their water bottles, at the same time, reloading their dust reserves. It's been almost 2 weeks since they've started training in the Emerald Forest, and made significant progress so far.

"It's nice to have some time to ourselves for once." Evans started as he gulped down his whole bottle.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've hung out with just the two of us." Louis agreed, screwing his bottle cap back on.

"Never thought it'd be here out of all places though."

"Oh?" Louis asked as he raised his brow. "Where were you thinking?"

"Either at that cafe where you and Blake had your first date."

_Hurk_

_Cough_

_Cough_

"I thought we went over this." Louis replied as he wiped his mouth, and threw Evans an unamused glare.

"Hey, you asked where." Evans shrugged and smiled.

...

"So, what's the other option?"

"In bed with the rest of team RWBY." Evans joked.

"Fuck off." Louis chuckled.

...

"Alright, maybe in our old dorms playing video games." Evans admitted suddenly with a sad tone as he looked down, devastated and defeated.

...

...

_Louis's POV_

"Do you ever think of... you know?" Evans asked.

"Home?" I asked as I look towards the skies. "Earth?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Sometimes." I admitted as I looked towards the skies. "But it's not like we could go back there, not anytime soon anyways."

"What do you mean?" Evans asked, raising a brow. "We died."

"Yeah, but we live in a world that has magic in it, it's not like they can't pull off a miracle."

"I mean... what if they can't?"

"Then I don't mind staying here forever." I admitted as I laid on the patch of grass. "It's nice here, don't you think?"

"You mean until this arc ends, and then all hell breaks loose."

"No I meant in general. It's not like we can live a fantasy like this in real life, probably through a lucid dream yeah, and then you wake up, and poof, you're back to the real world."

...

"Don't you miss them?" Evans asked, laying next to me.

"Family? Friends? Of course I do, but it's not like we can do anything about it."

"I guess you're right in that aspect... but..." Evans bit his lip as he got up. "It's just..."

...

"I know..." I replied as I slung an arm over his shoulder. "Hey, at least we can make a change in Remenant, for the better."

"I guess you're right." He smiled, his depression slowly fading away from his face.

...

"Come on, let's grab ourselves a Giant Nevermore." I said, trying to cheer him up as I got up.

"You sure about this?" He asked. "It took the entire team RWBY to take down ONE." He made sure to emphasize that last word.

"We've handled hordes of Boarbatusks, Ursai and Beowolves. What could go wrong?" I shrugged.

_Later..._

"I immidiately regret my decision!" I yelled out as I ran, giant black feather's shooting past me.

With a deafening screech, the Giant Nevermore swooped it's sharp talons down on us as we dodged out of the way, clearing a whole mass of trees that has a length of an air strip.

"I guess that's what happens when we both chose to go with melee!" Evans yelled back from across the charred ground. "Time to change things up a bit!"

"Wait... your weapon mecha shifts?!" I asked. "Into what? A fidget spinner?!"

Evans didn't reply, instead taking off a spikeless White Knuckle Ride and tossed them through the air.

The rings rotated around, connecting the ends of the furthest holes, and shrunk in size, while a bigger hole the size of a thumb appeared on the front side, extending out into a slim barrel. Its back extended into a small hammer, while the rest extended into a grip.

He grabbed both out of the air, and spun around with a wide grin on his face.

"4-round Dual revolvers." I muttered.

"Eeyup." he smiled, while he flicked the cylinder of it out, and loaded the spikes into the holes where his fingers usually go in.

"Impressive, never expected this from you, why didn't you use it before?"

"Oh I don't know." He rolled his eyes. "Maybe it's because I have to actually toss it out into the air for it to work? All while I'm weaponless and defenseless at said time?"

"Riiiight." I deadpanned as a shadow was caught in the corner of my eye. "Welp, use it!"

"Wha-"

_BOOM_

...

...

...

"Ugh..." I groaned as I rubbed my stiff shoulders.

"Evans! You alright?!" I asked through the smoke, dirt and dust that covered my eyes.

...

...

No answer.

Damn.

_Cough _

_Cough_

I didn't expect the Nevermore to recover so soon.

_SQUAAWK_

_SCREEECH_

It's still standing?!

"Not.. good." I hissed as the smoke cleared, and I saw just how far I was tossed back my the impact.

My whole body felt like it was made of lead, and a sharp pain shot through my thigh, where a broken branch had decided to latch on, while my spine felt like it was giving away, as I saw a shattered boulder behind me. When I tried to move my arm, it felt like it was cramping up, so in the end, I didn't move.

Crap...

That means I'm out of Aura.

And if I'm out of Aura...

Then...

"EVANS?!" I shouted out, despite my pain that grasped my chest.

Again, no reply.

What did reply though...

SQUAAAAAWKK!

A huge sillouethe then blocked out the sun, causing me to look up as the Nevermore flapped it's wings mockingly as it looked as if it was sneering down at me.

My hands went to my sides, grabbing Rose Nasty, and, with a swift jerk, extended out it's crimson blades once more.

SCREEEECH!

_God you're noisy. _I thought as I embed Rose Nasty's blades to the ground for support, ignoring the pain shooting up my thighs and into the sides of my pelvis as I shakily stood up.

"Come on then!" I shouted, opening my arms.

SQUAAAAAAAWK! The Nevermore complied, folding it's wings and swooping down at supersonic speeds for the killing blow.

Like hell I was gonna go down like this.

I connected both ends of Rose Nasty, and with a twist, it clicked shut, locking them into one, long polearm.

My trembling fingers went and tapped the red 'OVERDRIVE' button on the side, causing it's blades to extend a even longer, all while it's colour changed into a blazing orange, just like the surface of the sun, almost blinding to look at.

The small, black monitor beeped open, and showed the countdown timer for half a minute.

"Hellfire... Blitz..."

Holding Rose Nasty behind me, I readied myself into a crouch as the Nevermore came closer, and closer.

With a small, desperate leap, I brought the polearm overhead and swung as hard as my arms could, despite the pain shooting from my biceps into my forearms, and eventually to my wrist.

SCREEE-

_SLASH_

THUD

The 2 halves of the Giant Nevermore crashed down on either sides, crushing whatever remains of the forest behind me.

I dropped down on one knee as jumping that high up had not been a good idea, the pain intensiying by every ticking second.

"GAAAAAH!" I yelled out in pain, one hand grasping my bleeding thigh, while the other grabbed my left shoulder, feeling that much effort put into a powerful swing that followed up after taking a full impact like that might've dislocated it.

"Son of a bitch..." I cursed as my vision started to blur, and dark shadows danced behind the tree lines.

Rose Nasty then beeped 3 times as the timer showed 00:00, and closed shut, indicating it's out of power, and causing me to drop face first into the ground below.

I grit my teeth as muffled snarls filled my ears, and unmistakeable thundering thuds of an Ursa Major advanced to my sides.

My shoulders slumped, my body tensed up, not in fear, or agony, but in dissapointment.

This is it huh?

My journey of trying to change the story arc for the better ends here, right before the Fall of Beacon could even happen.

Was it worth it?

...

Heh...

Hell yeah.

Living with Team RWBY had been a blast.

I'm sure Evans... Felt... the same...

_way..._

_SWOOSH_

_BANG_

I opened my eyes, and, with blurry vision, saw brown cargo shorts, followed by metallic yellow, and a red cape that fluttered on my face.

"Ru...by? Yaa..ang?"

"You idiot!" Unmistakably the red hooded leader's voice made it's way to my ears, sparking relief.

And then...

Darkness overtook me.

**A/N**

**Not much humor in this one, but you can't always have ups without any downs.**

**That would just be boring, now wouldn't it?**

**Anyways, some people have been asking me if "OVERDRIVE" Was their... our... man it's weird to talk about yourselves and refer to them as third person isn't it? **

**Point is, "Overdrive" Isn't our sembelances, it's where we use our weapons to push it's limits to it's maximum potential, however... it comes at a cost.**

**Evans's Raging Storm takes time to charge up, and after using it, he needs to reload his spikes to fight again. Against humans, sure, knuckle dusters might sound like a threat, even being able to kill them if continuously beaten even when they're on the ground, but to Grimm? It's nothing.**

**Louis's Hellfire Blitz has a time limit to it, and afterwards, Rose Nasty shuts down, completely, not being able to charge up, even by shaking it.**

**Yes, I do realize Rose Nasty is a Beam katana, but I'm not making it as OP as it is in the game, again, a story with no obstacles is boring.**

**I've read stories where OC's have sembelances which are overpowered, or overused (Time alteration, Time control, Immunity, Fire/Lightning manipulation) ****and I don't really like that, if you're into that kind of shit, it's fine, ****I'm not judging at all, but this won't be that kind of story.**

**The only thing OP here, is our extended knowledge on the RWBYverse, because Knowledge is power.**


	24. Chapter 24

"... What was he thinking?!" An fammiliar authoritarian female voice sounded off, distant and muffled.

Weiss...?

"I don't know, but he isn't looking too hot..." Another replied.

Yang?

"Stupid..." Another muttered.

Ru...by?

...

"Why does he want to enter in the Vytal Tournament so bad? I get that he wants to show off his skills but..."

"Weiss, come on, you've known Louis for as long as we have. He isn't a showoff."

"Yang's right. He's a nice and humble guy, he doesn't show off. Not intentionally anyways."

"Stupid..." Someone repeated, muffled sobs could be heard.

"Ruby..."

"Get away from me!"

"Rubes..."

"He's an idiot... I told him not to go too far, and he... Ignored me... What kind of a leader am I, if I can't even get Louis to listen?"

"Ruby..."

"Weiss, stop. Rubes, we'll be in our room if you need us, okay?"

...

Some time passed.

An hour? Maybe 2?

Days?

Weeks?

Who can tell?

Darkness surrounded me. It was too dark to even see the hands in front of me.

...

_After some time..._

Muffled sobs could be heard as Ruby continued to cry into her pillow.

"What should we do?" Weiss asked as she closed the door completely, closing the small gap she had to spy on Ruby. "She's been like that for a week."

"There is nothing we can do." Yang sighed as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"It's not her fault... if anything it's our fault... right?" Blake asked, staring down at the floor.

"Yeah, we made that decision to not include him in our matches." Yang agreed. "But more then anything, it's not actually because we're afraid of losing."

...

"I think I have an idea." Yang said with a soft smile.

...

...

_Creak_

"Rubes..."

"Go away..."

"Look, it saddens us all to see you like this." Weiss mumbled as she crossed her arms. "It isn't your fault and you know it."

"It is my fault!" Ruby yelled back as she turned around, eyes puffy and bloodshot from the lack of sleep and constant crying, causing the rest of the team to reel back. "It completely is!"

"It's not..." Blake said as she tried to approach their leader, only for her to grit her teeth.

_Not good... the last time I saw her like this was when Summer died... _Yang thought. _Hmph, lucky she doesn't have my sembelance, otherwise this whole room might've gone up in flames._

"Okay that's enough Ruby." Yang said with a hardened glare, causing Ruby to calm down if only slightly. "Look, you can't keep moping around forever and the Doc said he's probably gonna be fine, so..."

"So?"

"So I think what you need to do and unwind, is visit him."

Ruby stared into the lilac orbs for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape, opening and closing like a fish, but no words came out.

Yang took that as a sign to continue. "Look." She sighed. "You can cry, we all feel guilty, really, we all do. If this was what Louis had in mind when he said he wanted to go 'training' then we would've never allowed it. But right now, there's not much we can do but wait for him to wake up. Until then, I'm sure when he does wake up, he doesn't wanna wake up alone."

Ruby looked at her team, and realized that it wasn't only Yang's words. Both Weiss and Blake nodded, agreeing with her sister.

Ruby sighed before shaking her head. "Who are you and what have you done to my sister?"

"Oh come on! I can be mature too you know!"

"Sure..." Blake rolled her eyes.

"Blake! I thought you were supposed to be my partner!" Yang reeled back with an overeacted shock on her face.

...

"Alright, I'll go..." Ruby said after calming down.

"You want us to come with you?" Weiss asked.

"No... I think I'll go alone."

...

...

_Creak_

"Hey Louis." Ruby started as she poked her head through the door.

"Sorry I haven't visited in a while..." She said, taking a chair to sit beside him.

Constant beeping on the monitors showed that Louis was alive, though the bandages wrapped around his torso still worried her.

"You know, it's ironic." Ruby started, sighing as she slumped in her seat, and her gaze went up to the white ceiling above her.

"Going back to my home in Patch, I'd thought I'll feel a sense of peace and quiet, a place where I could feel relaxed. Instead, the first thing I got when I landed however... Was a blurry picture from Professor Ozpin. It wasn't the best of qualities, but who could've mistaken the black Adidas jacket with dark blue stripes and that hair that was combed to the side, standing back to back with his friend in a white and green striped shirt." Ruby said as a small smile tugged on the edge of her lips.

"I was surprised when I didn't see Bloody Berry though." Ruby picked up both of the once silvery katana handles, covered in dirt and a bit of mud, painted obsidian black with crimson rings, almost matching her combat skirt. In her small arms though with her size, it looked like 2 compacted batons.

"Hehe...

I panicked, and immediately shoved my scroll on Yang. Oh you should've seen the look on her face. She was just as worried for you as she is to me when I was younger. Not that she isn't worried about me now... just, not as much. Anyways, by then we just got back so, there wasn't much we could do but ask Professor Ozpin to help take care of you, and crossed our fingers.

I would've asked Weiss or Blake to take care of you, but I was scared you'll blame me for it, and I felt bad for asking- no, letting our team put it to a vote that you shouldn't participate..." Ruby continued, her trembling hands putting the handles on the table beside Louis.

"Part of me felt guilty, that I was being a bad team leader by not letting everybody participate in the Vytal Tournament, and we didn't train you enough to be on par with us." Ruby said with a soft sigh.

...

"But another part of me felt relieved, that I wouldn't have to see you get hurt... afraid that you would fatally injure yourself in a fight.

The girls may not have said anything, but deep down I'm sure they felt the same way..."

...

...

...

"I told mom about you, just like you asked." Ruby chuckled, then settled on a small smile as she continued.

"That's when I received another picture from Professor Ozpin, showing whom I thought was the most sensible of us all, the one whom always warned us of any incoming danger due to 'Lucky Guesses', the one who is always right, kind, caring for team RWBY, riding a Giant Nevermore on its back. Like... how did you even manage without a sembelance?" Ruby said, chortling slightly at the last comment. "Even with a Sembelance I was only able to latch on with Weiss due to Cresent Rose being a big enough blade to penetrate it's thick feathers. And that was after I gathered up enough momentum."

...

...

"My heart stopped, it feels as if all the air had been sucked out of my lungs, and my face went as pale as Weiss's hair that afternoon, I was hyperventilating, and dad and Yang only managed to calm me down if only slightly.

In the end, I asked dad if we could book an early flight ticket back to Beacon and I immediately texted the team. Dad, Weiss and Yang and I got on the launch pads, and Blake was a bit late, but she got there eventually.

We split up into pairings at first, and did a quick sweep. Even with my speed we were unable to find you, and eventually decided it was best to go solo, and cover more ground.

So much for teamwork, am I right?" Ruby scoffed at herself. "So much for being a leader."

...

A tear then leaked it's way from her eyes, down to her hands.

"W-we were all worried sick," She sobbed. "scared senseless t-that when we got there, we would just too late." Ruby muttered under her breath, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"W-what were you thinking when you engaged that oversized bird?" Ruby said in a defeated chuckle. "It took the whole team RWBY to eliminate that thing y'know... maybe you wouldn't, since you weren't there when we fought it."

...

"When I lost mom...

Back then, I was too young to actually know what was happening around me. I just opened the door with a curious smile on my face, and there stood Uncle Qrow with a long face. He just told me to go upstairs, and call dad...

Yang took care of me, being the mom all those years when I didn't have any. She'll read me bed time stories, where even though there isn't a happy ending, she'll just makeup her own character in which she is the hero to prevent me from crying. She plays with me, sings me to sleep. Even now, she still treats me as if I was a kid. Which... I am I guess, considering how I first met Jaune." Ruby sighed, looking up to the ceiling as she cradled her knees on the chair, more tears rolling down the sides of her cheeks as she told her tale.

...

"It's not fair... I robbed Yang of her childhood, it should've been me instead..."

...

...

...

"You know, ever since that first kiss you gave me, I've been too shy to even talk to you. I can't believe I didn't even manage to even remember it." Ruby sighed as she put her fingers to her bottom lips.

"I know I won't have the courage to admit it when you're awake and well, and I know Yang's gonna tease me nonstop if she hears about this, but there's no other way to describe this tingling feeling that has been bothering me for such a long time.

Ever since that night at the roof, the dance, and every single day after that, I can't help but feel butterflies in my tummy whenever I see you." Ruby said as she stood up, and bent over Louis's bed.

"I...I-I lo-"

_SLAM_

"Rubes, let's go, it's time for lunch."

"But Yang..."

"You can always visit him afterwards."

Ruby sighed, and then said "Alright, I'll be right behind you."

Yang hesitated for a moment, but then her expression softened as she turned around.

"Okay." Yang said as she closed the doors.

"Well, Yang just ruined that moment." Ruby said with a small giggle. "Looks like my confession will to wait then."

Ruby turned around, gazing behind her shoulder, then kissed Louis on his forehead. As she pulled away, she looked at his lips, but hesitated, and turned to face the door and felt her cheeks heating up, turning them into the colour of her hood as she chided herself for even thinking about it.

She waddled out, all with a small and proud smile on her lips that she achieved something, then the door slowly creaked shut.

...

...

_Louis's POV_

...

"Argh..." I hissed as my eyes fluttered open to adjust to the blinding white light.

The first thing I saw was an IV pipe the diameter of a pencil up my nose.

Then I craned my sore neck to see white walls that surrounded me.

Hospital.. huh? Probably Beacon's med bay.

Wait a minute...

"Evans!" I shot up, and immidiately winced holding my sides.

Ugh... felt like a broken ribcage...

Fucking Nevermore got us good...

I adjusted the pillows so that I could rest my back against the headrest, and looked around me.

No sign of Evans anywhere...

"Fuck..." I muttered.

Did he...

Is he dead?

...

Damnit...

_Damnit all!_ I thought as I slammed my fists to the table beside me, and noticed a familiar shape on my hands.

Huh... Rose Nasty is here?

Why is it painted black?

It's a good paint job but...

The doors creaked open, and a woman with brown hair and fair skin walked in with a nurse's outfit.

"Oh, you're awake!" She exclaimed. She then walked over after a moment's hesitation. No doubt hearing the loud slam eminating from the room.

"Yeah..." I muttered back. "How long have I been out?"

"Hmm, about..." The nurse thought as she took out the tubes from my nose and my arm. "7 days."

What are you? Samara?

"A week huh?" I sighed as I flexed my shoulders. "How badly hurt was I?"

"Let's see...You had a huge branch that tore through your left thigh all the way through, a few broken ribs, torn tendons and ligaments in your arms from exerting that much strength in your swing, bruised ankles and elbows, and you injured your right calf." The nurse finished, checking the list off her fingers.

"Nothing too fatal then." I chuckled, then looked to the nurse and saw that she wasn't taking my joke too well. "Well, what did one week buy me?"

"Due to Atlas tech and your... strong aura, we almost managed to heal up all your wounds," The nurse said, taking off the sheets to prove her point. "But I would avoid any streneous activities if I were you. You need time to let yourself recover."

"For how long?"

"About 10 days."

10 days?!

"I can't wait that long! The Vytal Tournament is in a week!" It's what Evans would've wanted.

"You will not be partaking in the Vytal Tournament, Louis." General Ironwood said as he marched into the room with his hands behind his back.

The nurse quickly greeted him, and walked away.

"What do you mean by I won't be partaking?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes, honing in on him.

"I was watching how you took down that Giant Nevermore." Ironwood said as he sat down beside me. "Ozpin showed me the footage."

I nodded.

Seriously, how does he place the hidden cameras to capture at such a good angle?

"Well, honestly, it was impressive to see you take down that Giant Nevermore without much effort." he said, replaying the footage on his scroll and showed it so we could both watch it, like I would forget such a life threatening memory. "But that's exactly the problem."

"Mhmm?" I replied, still unsure on where he is heading with this.

"Well," His gaze then snapped to Rose Nasty.

He then stood up, and walked over to the tables to admire the katana hilts. "Your weapon is a unique one, Louis."

I didn't know wether I should be flattered or worried at the way he was delivering his compliment.

"It only utilizes fire dust, and it couldn't fuel on any other types dust."

"How did you know that?" I asked as my eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Well, it is because you killed that Giant Nevermore under one swing." He replied simply as he ran his hands on the hilts. "Nobody in your school year, not even Phyrra Nikos could have afforded to do that. The feathers of a Giant Nevermore may not be as tough as a Deathstalker shell, but it is thick nevertheless."

"Okay, but I still don't get why I can't participate in the tournament?" I asked, raising my brow. "Is killing a Giant Nevermore under one swing a bad thing?"

"It is because you have..." His eyes squinted to the red button. "_Overdrive_, that I cannot allow you to participate."

My heart sank as I realized what he is saying.

Ironwood screwed off the bottom of Rose Nasty's hilts, and gave it a quick jerk to reveal dead dust rods, looking like 2 dead glowsticks, grey and desaturated in colour.

"Star Dust..."

Shit...

"This much concentrated dust, all compacted inside such a small compartment." He grumbled as the 2 empty dust cartridges fell down with a clank, and rolled under the bed. "I'm impressed that you managed to come up with such an idea, but so far the only one who manages to apply it has been Atlas and our military advances to defend against _Grimm_." He made sure to emphasize his last point.

"But... I won't use it against people in the Vytal Tournament! I only added that feature as a last resort so that I could face higher level Grimm!"

"We won't know for certain." Ironwood shook his head. "As head of security, I will not take my chances."

"I won-"

"You do realize this is illiegal to be used by students? Atlas wanted to spread the use of Star Dust across the nations, hoping it would aid Pro Hunstman in fighting mass amounts of Grimm, but a student?!" Ironwood asked with a hardened glare. "This shouldn't even be crafted here, it's too advanced and could almost penetrate aura, no matter how huge their aura pool is."

"I swear I won't use it." I said with an equally hard glare as I looked into his obsidian eyes. "It's a last resort, and it only lasts half a minute. After that, my weapon becomes as useless as 2 glowsticks. I stand true to my words, General. Overdrive is not meant for the Tournament."

He stared for a moment, and for a brief second, I saw him hesitate before sighing. He put Rose Nasty back where he found it, and then asked me. "Have you told anyone of this?"

"If by this you mean utilizing one type of dust and pushing it's limits to deadly potential, then no."

He asked if I had told anyone of this, not if anybody else uses it.

Besides, technically Evans is the one who told me. He crafted White Knuckle Ride first, after all.

"I will have to discuss this matter further with Ozpin, until then, till then, I hope you make a full recovery soon." He said with a cold tone as he opened the doors.

...

"Wait, General." I said as I bit my lower lip.

"Yes?"

"There was... a friend that came along with me in the Emerald Forest. I-is he-" my voice cracked at the last moment, wanting a confirmation, at the same time, knowing that the truth might break me.

...

...

"You mean Evans?" The general asked raising his brow, getting a small nod from me in return. "He got discharged yesterday."

Oh thank god.

Almost gave me a heart attack.

"Thank you, General."

I wouldn't be able to rest easy, knowing I'd been the one that killed him.

...

But wait...

Yesterday?

...

He got off lighter then me huh?

And he wasn't interogatted by the General too...

"Hmph..." I chuckled. "Lucky son of a bitch."

_Later..._

"Come on!" Ruby jumped up and down cheerfully as she pointed towards the hallways. "How much longer?"

"Rubes, relax." Yang pointed out as she brought some food to takeaway.

"Louis isn't going anywhere and you know this." Weiss agreed. "You've been like this ever since you visited."

"We told you it's not your fault." Blake said as she shook her head. "If Louis was here, I'm sure he would be saying the same thing."

"Actually..." Ruby said as she twiddled her thumbs. "It's-"

"No its not." Weiss sighed. "We made that decision as a team. If Louis want's to blame it, he'll have to blame it on all of us."

"Unless." Yang smirked. "You have another reason why you're doing this." She said as she ruffled her little sister's hair, causing her cheeks to blush, and match the colour her hood.

"I am not!" Ruby denied, turning the other direction and pulled her hood over her head to try and hide the embaressment.

"Ruby... is there.. something you would like to tell us?" Weiss asked, noticing something weird in their leader that they'd never seen before.

"No!" Ruby pouted, though it wasn't visible to her team. "I-it's nothing."

Yang's grin grew wider, and Blake caught on.

"Oh.. my...dust..." Blake said as both her hands went to her mouth.

This was all too familiar. When she had been great to hide her feelings, and even then, she was still found out.

Not that that had been sorted out completely yet, but at least she had been able to control it. This however...

This was just downright adorable.

She wasn't even jealous.

"Blake?" Weiss asked, still not catching the point as Blake coughed to her fist.

"Ruby might have an announcement to make." Yang teased as she blocked the doorway.

"Yaaaang!"

_Later..._

"I'm... so... bored..." I grumbled as the bed elevated for the 10th time in a row.

I wish I could do something, anything!

Heck, even giving Blake's books a read doesn't sound so bad.

_I doubt she'll ever lend them to me though._ I thought with a sigh as I pressed another button, and the bed started to descend once more.

One week huh? One week till the Vytal tournament starts...

And I haven't even proven myself.

"Yaaaang, it's not like that!" Ruby's muffled moans could be heard from the other side, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Then what is it sis?" Yang asked, and I heared weird smooching noises follow afterwards.

Crap

Should I pretend I was still asleep?

"Yang! Stop it!" Ruby groaned as the doors slammed open. "I don't- Louis?!"

"Yeah?" I smiled, turning my head around at the 4 girls who had their mouths agape.

"Don't 'Yeah?' Us!" Weiss snapped as she stormed her way into the room.

"Then what am I supposed to say? Greetings? Hello? Salutations?"

"Y-you're..." Ruby stammered.

"Uh oh..." Yang said as she tried to grab Ruby, but it was too late.

"AWAKE!" Ruby burst into rose petals and charged at me with full force, blowing me off my bed.

"Uurrgh... " I groaned as I held my head, looking down to see our black haired leader clinging tightly onto me.

Felt like Ruby just undid what a week's rest had done...

I think I'd prefer it if the Nevermore had ended me...

"Ruby, he needs his rest!" Blake urged as she went to my side, and tried to pry Ruby off me.

"Ow, Blake sto- OW! Not so har- OWWW!"

"What am I supposed to do then?!" Blake asked as she flung her hands in the air.

"I-it's okay." I said as Ruby burried her face onto my chest. "Just let her enjoy this a bit longer."

Blake, Weiss and Yang just exchanged confused looks, and then Yang just shrugged it off.

"Am I gonna get one from all of you too?" I teased.

"I'll accept any hugs," I chuckled as I ran my hand down the leader's hair. "Just not from Yang."

"Hey! I can be gentle when I want to, ask Ruby!"

"Pfffff... HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Why are you... oh..." Yang faltered, and looked away.

"Idiot..." Ruby muttered in my naval as she flailed her arms on my chest, softly punching it with no heat, probably not understanding the innuendo her now flustered sister just applied.

"Welcome back." The heiress huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.

"It's good to be back." I chuckled.

**A/N**

**You didn't think 'Overdrive' was just a normal thing that didn't go without an explaination did you? XD**

**Also, 5k, almost 6k views on this fic! You guys are awesome!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**

**Omake 1.0**

**The checkpoint chapter.**

**Okay, this chapter is gonna be a bit different, where I do extra stuff that would not affect the main storyline at all.**

**This will mostly be a blooper/ unused gags and ideas, or ideas I hadn't thought of at the time from all the previous chapters, and you guys would probably have to scroll back to jog up your memory on it.**

**Some things may be... out of control, since I basically have no limitations here what so ever, so, consider yourself warned.**

**Anyways, here we go!**

**-Chapter 1-**

Bear Grylls would be proud.

The bear then tilted it's head in confusion, and then charged at me anyways.

"Why isn't it working?!" I shouted. "Did Discovery Channel lie to me?!"

The bear then suddenly skidded to a halt, and gave a low growl as 3 red dots appeared on it's skull.

In an instant, I felt something scorch my skin as the bear's head exploded.

"Gah! This stings!" I sulked, holding my shoulder as I got up.

The smell of burnt flesh fills the air.

"Thank you... whoever you are." I said, turning around to... no one.

***_Hears clicking noises._***

Wait a minute... 3 dot laser sights... clicking

OH FU-

SLASH

**-Shift-**

"What?" I asked as I got up to my knees, wiping the blood from my head. Then a high pitched scream of agony could be heard, as someone flailing their hands flew overhead, asking himself what a 'landing strategy' is, followed by a thump of what sounded like a sharp object piercing a tree.

"I'm sorry!" I heard from the trees not too far away. "Wait... Did I miss?!"

"Jaune, watch out for that-"

SLAM

"Tree..."

Well, at least your name isn't George.

**-Shift-**

"Compactable holographic phones? When was that a thing?" I asked aloud. Then I noticed something familiar about the design, like I've seen it somewhere before...

*Opens phone*

"Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAAAKE!"

**-Shift-**

"You had CCTV's planted in the forest?" I asked.

"What's a CCTV?" Ozpin asked as he raised a brow.

"You know, hidden cameras?" I asked, raising a brow of my own.

"Oh," Ozpin coughed into his fist. "That. Uhh..."

"Is there something you would like to tell the students Professor?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Like perhaps... where else have you hidden your cameras set up?"

Glynda narrowed her eyes, and fixed her spectacles, then, smacking her crop against the palm of her hand as she glared at Ozpin.

"Yes Professor..." Glynda grit her teeth. "Anything you would like to tell me as well...?"

Ozpin gave her a nervous glance in return.

Somehow the air in the room only intensified as all the men in the crowd were in a major uproar, demanding that they have a spare copy sent to their scrolls.

Poor Ruby was left alone with Louis and Evans in the auditorium, completely clueless as to what would be wrong with having a hidden camera in the room. She just thought it was cool, just like those spy movies she watches! All while Ozpin was washed out by a wave of students (And Glynda).

**-Chapter 2-**

"Maybe we could even prevent it." I said, then I added. "And being one of the jocks, maybe we can reveal Blake's secret faster then the plot could?"

"You do realize she has 2 pairs of ears and nightvision right?"

Blake's bow twitched in the room.

"Hm?" Yang asked as Blake's face went pale. "What's wrong Blakey?"

"Nothing... it's just that my ears are very... sensitive, and I think I could hear someone trying to take my bow off."

"What's wrong with it? I can do it for you." Yang said with a tease, but her expression turned into a vicious smirk once she saw Blake put her book down and reel back into a corner.

"Nothing!" She immidiately shouted as she reeled back and put both her hands on it.

"Oh, I sense a challenge!" Yang smirked as she pounced on top of Blake.

...

_Creak_

"Uhh..." I faltered as I opened the door to see Yang pinning Blake down on her bed with her arms on top of the pillows with one hand, all while her other hand crept up to the tip of Blake's bow. "I'm sorry...

I'll come back later..."

"WAIT, LOUIS YOU MISUNDERSTOOD!" Blake shouted as she pushed Yang off her. "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

_I thought Bumblebee doesn't happen until Volume 6..._ I thought as I closed the doors.

Where did I screw up?

**-Shift-**

"Done!"_ I said, coming out the door. "You can take your turn now Weiss."_

"Did you at least clean up?!" She shrieked from behind the covers.

"What? You wanna help me get cleaned up?" I smirked.

*Weiss takes out Myrtenaster and flash freezes me*

Motherfucker.

**-Chapter 3-**

I glanced at my scroll, which still had a big crack across the middle, managing to avoid epilepsy as I tried to check for the time.

"11 50.." I muttered as I rolled down my jeans to cover my wound. "Which means I'm just in time for..."

_At the cafeteria_

"Jaune... Are you okay?" Phyrra asked, getting Jaune to snap out of his daydream.

"Uh yeah! Why?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Is just that you seem a little... Not okay." Ruby said.

"Guys... I'm fine! Seriously look. A..haha..."

He then looked over to the table across, where Team CRDL was bullying a certain rabbit Faunus.

"Please stop." Velvet yelped as Cardin held her up by the ears.

_Outside the cafeteria_

"Some-" I shouted from outside, kicking the doors down, getting team CRDL to flinch in surprise. "BODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD IS GONNA ROLL ME"

Evans: "I AINT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHEEED"

**-Shift-**

"That was..." Weiss said.

"Unexpected." Blake finished.

Evans eyes shone at this golden opportunity. He snuck up behind Blake and yanked at her bow.

"Bet ya didn't expect that either did ya Kitty cat?" Evans smirked a cocky grin while he closed his eyes

"Uhh... Evans..." I muttered.

He opened his eyes to see that he was holding onto... nothing as the shadow dissapeared.

"In fact I did saw that coming" Blake said with Gambol Shroud to the back of Evans's neck. "You really didn't think you could sneak up on me that easily did you?"

"B-but how?" Evans asked as he raised both hands up. "You were distracted."

"You fool! I was never there in the first place, it was my shadow clone all this time!"

**-Chapter 5-**

"Where did you get these?"

"Ozpin's computer duh!"

"You... hacked his computer?"

"Shhh not so loud! Yeah, I hacked it, man that dude has a lot of pictures of himself topless."

"What?!"

"You wouldn't believe the pictures he keeps of himself."

I looked at him to see him trembling while hugging his knees.

"I have seen things." He said.

"Like...?"

*Flashback*

*Clicks on folder **WORK***

*Clicks on folder **LOTS OF WORK***

*Clicks on folder **LEMON PARTY***

_Evan's POV_

"HAH! It couldn't be the same definition... right?

Right...?"

"Oh... Ozpin..."

"Yes...

...

... Port?"

"Do insert your staff inside..."

"Shhhh, we should wait for Ironwood and Oobleck."

"They'll be joining us in tonight?"

*Elevator door beeps open*

"Sorry we're late." Ironwood said as he adjusted his tie. "I brought a friend."

"Oh, so this is the man you've been talking about." Jaques Schnee said as he looked at the 2 white haired man caught in the act. "He seems to be busy already."

"Oh he could multitask." Ironwood said as he revealed his iron... wood.

"We have room for one more." Ozpin smiled. "Now... let's get started shall we?"

"MY EYES!" Evans screamed.

***Present***

"Hello?

Hello?!

Earth to Evans, you still there?!" I asked, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

I put 2 fingers on his neck.

No pulse...

"Rest in peace my friend..." I muttered, closing his eyes. "You have fought honourably."

**-Chapter 12-**

"Nope." I grinned as I saw a sillouethe slip under his mech from behind, with Torchwick being too distracted honing his attention on me . "But I got you right where I want you.."

"What?!" He asked as the mech spun around and scanned the area, relieved when he saw the rest of team RWBY still stayed just like Louis commanded them too.

I hope Evans is right, otherwise, I might just haunt him for life.

Evans: "I am directly below... the enemy scrotum."

"Who said that?!" Torchwick's voice echoed throughout the mech.

The mech turned around and...

_STOMP_

_SPLAT_

Yeah... it probably wasn't a good idea to notify the enemy that you're currently under it.

Escpecially when its a 40 ton giant mech twice your height.

**-Chapter 14-**

Evans is alone in that ring, he needs time to set Raging Storm up and Mercury is too fast for that... He's fast enough to stop Ruby from bursting into rose petals...

This match was clearly unbalanced. It's Mercury's victory before it even started.

So if he's gonna do what I think he's gonna do...

...

...

I kept my eye to Evans who 'readied himself' as he stood upright, with both hands behind his sides, digging into his pants and a cocky grin on his face.

"What... is he doing?" Yang asked. "That's not how a brawler should stand... he should be hunched."

"Yeah... " Ruby squinted her eyes.

Those knuckle dusters of his?

They're not his real weapons.

They're just there for show. An accessory, if you will.

His real weapon... Is...

"Ruby, please close your eyes." I muttered.

"But...why?"

*Closes Ruby's eyes with my hands anyways*

"Don't ask, just... trust me on this one."

Mercury then took it upon himself to ask Evans "So... am I gonna start or-"

RRRRIPP

Out of nowhere, the girls started to cheer while Mercury's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'll be the one starting." Evans smirked as he started to pump his bare chest, all while his teasing hands moved down slowly to his pants, showing bits and pieces of his underwear.

"Take them off!" Yang yelled. "DO IT OR I SWEAR I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!"

Blake and Weiss took this as a good time to make it out of the room.

Evans then started to get down and dirty, bucking his hips and twerking his ass, teasing the already hungry women that crowded the stadium.

"Oh my..." Glynda put her hand to her mouth with a small giggle. "Mr Evans... you seem... very fit..."

"MY EYES! STOP PLEASE! I YIELD!" Mercury begged as he tried his best to cover his vision up.

"Oh..." Emerald blushed, reached for her wallet for stolen lien.

As flakes lien bounced back from the forcefield like confetti, Mercury tried to kick his way out to freedom.

"WOOOOOO!" Evans yelled, suddenly ripping off his pants and throwing it on the floor with a deafening smack.

"MORE!" The girls cheered louder, screaming to deafening lengths.

"Why is everybody cheering?" Ruby asked. "What's going on?"

"Trust me..." I yelled over the crowd as I stood up with Ruby. "You don't wanna know."

Please for the love of god, don't go-

Tearing then could be heard from the middle of the ring.

...commando.

Left and right ladies started to faint as Evans spun his meat stick, all while Mercury's yells and begging got lost in the crowd.

"Cinder..." Emerald said over her phone, fanning one hand over her face. "I'm gonna... have to call you back."

"Emerald? What's going o-"

Beep

Emerald then joined the crowd, begging for Glynda Goodwitch to let the force field down to claim their prize.

"LET THEM DOWN!" Yang yelled louder over the others. "LET THE SHIELDS DOWN!"

Blake and Weiss went out long ago, though if I say they didn't spare a glance, I would be lying.

With a smirk, Evans walked over, and picked up a more then uncomfortable Glynda, and carried her bridal style.

"Sorry girls," He said, glancing upwards. "I got my trophy right here."

_Really Evans? You're gonna just take it from Please Teacher?_ I thought as I facepalmed as I escorted Ruby out from the uproar.

"Milf lover" I muttered.

"Did you just say you love milk?" Ruby asked as I finally opened my palms to let her see.

...

"Yes Ruby...

let's go get some." I smiled innocently.

**-Chapter 17-**

"I have nothing against that." I snorted. "You can be as hard on him as you'd like. I just need to figure out a plan that brings him to us, not us to him, to prevent him from running away again."

"And... do you?"

"As a matter of fact... I do." I said with a wide grin as I looked at Ruby.

"But you're not gonna like it."

The girls all just looked at each other, shifting uneasily as they wondered if they even wanted to know what I had in mind.

...

...

"H-how sure are you that this plan is gonna work?" Ruby stammered.

"One hundred percent." I smirked as I took a picture Ruby (With her default clothes on) on her bed from a high angle. "Now pose nicely..."

"How do you feel about this?" Weiss asked Yang, who kept her eyes closed throughout the whole process.

"I-I'm fine..." Yang lied as she grit her teeth, permanent finger depressions making their way to the wooden chair that Weiss usually sits in.

Lucky for them, they had aura, otherwise, with the strength Yang is going, they might've gotten splinters in their eyes.

_Later..._

Psycho Smile: "I sense something... off..."

*Elevator door beeps open*

Psycho Smile then walks over to the door and picks up... a body pillow.

"Oh.. My god!" Psycho Smile exclaimed as he snuggled with it. "A RUBY DAIKIMURA! I'm gonna love you-"

_Crack_

_SNAP_

"forever and...ever... and..."

Plonk

"How'd you know it would work?" Ruby asked, removing the dart from his neck.

"Oh, he's a sucker for these kinds of things." I snickered. "Serves as a great distraction."

"But why my face on a pillow like that...?"

I just coughed into my fist, and put my headphones on, denying to give her an explaination even as I entered the dorms.

Lucky she doesn't know what that's actually for.

Hehe...

Heh.

**-Chapter 20-**

"_That doesn't mean I don't change!" _Neo furiously typed out on her scroll. _"I sweat too you know!_"

"Alright, alright." Mercury smirked, putting both hands up, and returned to his workout. "Got me there."

His workout was cut short as the alarms started to blare throughout the guest dorms, causing Cinder's eyes to widen.

"What the-" Cinder asked.

"Let's go take a look." Mercury said as he got up, and the trio left, leaving Neo alone.

...

If he's telling the truth... then...

A glint of light caught the corner of her eye as she made her way to the drawer that was right beside her.

This is...

Psycho Smile's scroll.

...

I wonder what's on it? Neo thought as she hacked the password.

Huh... Season 1?

*Plays playlist*

...

...

_Later..._

"Man, that was quite the warm up." Mercury yawned as he stretched his hands.

"What was he thinking?" Emerald snarled. "Setting the plan off early?"

"Beats me." Mercury shrugged as he reached for the door knob. "But at least the situation is under control. Now we could re-

Neo greeted them by crossing her wrists to her right side, and then threw her hands to her side while she closed her eyes.

"Uhh-"

After a few seconds, she did a pose as she crouched, throwing her hands to the left as if she was holding an invisible big ball there.

"What the..?" Emerald asked, raising her brow.

Neo then puffed up her cheeks, and showed them the scroll.

"You... want us to watch?" Emerald asked as she took the scroll in her hands.

"Uhh... okay...?" Mercury agreed. "I'll go grab the popcorn."

_Even Later..._

"What a mess..." Cinder muttered as her slender hands reached for the doorknob. "I'll have to think of nefarious plans tommorow... I'm tire-"

"IT'S MORPHING TIME!" Mercury yelled as he crossed his wrists to his left.

"NEO RANGER FOUR GREEN!" Emerald yelled, mimicking Mercury.

Neo did the same thing, except that her mouth opened and closed, with no words coming out.

The door slammed shut, and whatever Cinder was carrying back with her fell on the floor, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"WHAT THE DUST IS THIS?!"

**-Chapter 22-**

"Tai..." Raven drew a sharp breath, and gasped for air.

Tai then spun her around, pushed her, and pinned her to the ground, all while Raven shyly tried to block his vision from seeing her so flustered and meek.

"We... Shouldn't, not here..."

"Why not?"

"This forest is full of Grimm for one."

"It's all the more thrilling, don't you think?" Tai asked.

Raven's gaze snapped back to Tai, to see that Tai had already been stripped of his clothes, showing his solid, chiseled, rock hard abs and the muscular build of a brawler.

"You never gave me an answer." Tai whispered, diving down on her neck once more.

...

"Yes."

"I can't hear you..."

"Squawk."

Tai dropped down face first to the patch of grass as his hands gripped onto feathers.

"Not again..." Tai muttered, dusting himself clear of dirt. "Does this happen often?"

"Caw"

"Does it always have to happen when you're hot and bothered?"

The raven then craned it's neck, and then nuzzled itself on Tai's lap.

"I guess it can't be helped." Tai shrugged as he wrapped the raven with cloth.

**A/N**

**Yeah, really not a good idea to write a story without a certain direction and continuity now is it? xD**

**Aaaanyways, now you see that I have to go to some... really dark places for gags sometimes. So, these are just some ideas that crossed my mind when writing them. Some mellow, some... weird. **

**Ah well, see you in the next chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**

**Alrighty, back to the main story we go.**

"Alright, you can set me down here." I said as I faced Yang, who currently had my arm slung over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you convinced us into escorting you out." She muttered as she set me down on an elevated patch of grass, overviewing some grassy plains made for students to train in. "You're not supposed to be walking after what happened."

"It's not like I'm gonna be training with you guys in any way, not after what happened. And like you all said, soloing that Giant Nevermore was proof enough that I'm strong enough to join the tournament." I pouted as team JNPR and RWBY formed a circle and gathered around me.

"That is _only if_ you make a full recovery." Weiss scolded, making sure to emphasize some words to make her point clear while pointing her finger accusingly at me.

"Yeah yeah Ice Queen, if I'm in good enough shape to almost walk on two feet, I'm sure I'll be good enough to fight in 2 days." I smirked as I laid on the grass.

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms at her overused nickname, but didn't say anything afterwards. The other's didn't look too convinced however, and just looked at each other uneasily.

...

"What are you all waiting for?" I chuckled, taking a sip from a bottle of water. "Give me a good show."

"Right... we don't have much time before lunch, we should get started." The red haired champion said as she unsheated Milo in her left hand, deploying her shield on her right. "Should we split it into singles, doubles or should we immidiately start with team fights?"

"I think I can do all 3." Yang chuckled as she flexed both her shoulders.

"Don't get too cocky. Phyrra could counter you in every way possible, don't forget that." I smirked, getting a pout in return from the blonde brawler as her shoulders slumped, as if she suddenly just realized the fact.

"I think we should start off with teams immediately." Jaune pitched in. "After lunch, we could have more energy to focus on singles and doubles, since those two require more concentration.'

"That's actually... Not a bad idea." Weiss said as she put her hands to her chin.

"Let's go!" Ruby cheered gleefully as she jumped up in the air, and the others around them nodded in agreement.

"Alright girls, good luck." I waved off as they made it into the fields.

Could've been my imagination, but I think I saw Ruby wave back with a confident smile on her face.

Maybe a bit of a blush on her cheeks too.

Must've been the heat from the sun.

After the group positioned themselves on opposite sides, they all looked over to my side, getting me to nod in return. I raised my hand, and jerked it down in front of me, signalling for them to start.

Phyrra leaped into action, immidiately charging forward to engage with Weiss, their weapons met with a deafening clang, while the others retreated to their respective sides.

Ruby started to fire at Phyrra's direction, causing her to break her current standstill with Weiss and raise her shields, all while Ren did the same, aiming both his gunblades at Weiss, who blocked with a defensive white glyph and retreated back as Yang charged forward to take down the red headed champion.

A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulders, squeezing it, giving it a good grip.

"Evans." I smiled, not bothering to glance back as my eyes were glued to the start of the match.

"Louis." He responded, taking a seat beside me.

"How did you get out first? I call bullshit." I chuckled. "You were standing right beside me."

"Meh, it's not like you touched me before that fight. Sprained both ankles and got a clean blow on my chest, sent me crashing into some trees, but other then that I'm good. Nothing too serious.

You?"

"Just a small splinter." I replied with a smirk. "Tis but a scratch."

"Nothing but a flesh wound." Evans chuckled back.

"Doc said I gotta rest for at least 4 more days, not counting this one, but I digress. How about you? Think we're good to go?"

"Hmph. Who do they think they're talking to?" He scoffed, then leaned back on both hands for support to let out a small chuckle. "My body is ready."

...

...

"Listen... I'm sorry about dragging you to fight that Giant Nevermore with me... I knew that, chances were, with my _'Overdrive' I_ can take it down on my own, yet I still insisted that you came along to try and ground it, to kill it off naturally. You didn't even want to deal with it, an-."

"Don't." He cut off, eyes still on the fight.

"Don't...?"

"Don't apologize." He turned to faced me with a small smile. "For your information, I do want to deal with some Grimm of higher level sooner or later, I was just waiting for you to ask. Besides, we'd never push our limits if we keep sticking to the small fries."

"Are you saying going on a killing spree is boring?"

"No, it's just that..."

...

...

"Ok maybe I am saying that." He admitted after a moment of thought.

"I knew it." I deadpanned.

"I mean, it's like setting a game on very easy y'know. Besides, we needed something to clear our mind from nostalgia, and that helped. I should be thanking you, you have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm glad you could... knock it off?"

"Ugh... Thanks Yang 2.0" He groaned, putting one palm to his face.

"How about the way I took down that Nevermore? Did I... blow you off your feet?"

Evans glared at me.

"Okay... I'll stop now. But honestly what'cha think?"

"Well, it's good to see you've gone for a massive upgrade. You basically Darth Maule'd your weapon." He pointed out.

"It's not that great though..." I said with a faint smile as I grabbed both obsidian hilts from my waist, unbuckling them to put them into view. "30 seconds was all I could get, I couldn't push it further. And to make matters worse, Ironwood found out."

"Woah, about Star Dust?"

"Yeah... said that he saw the footage. So far Atlas Military is the only one in Remenant that has it, the only one that uses it legally anyways. You shouldn't though, just to be safe."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out when I do." He agreed.

...

...

"Speaking of Darth Maul, have you thanked Ruby yet?" Evans asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't know?" He raised his brow and chuckled as he pointed at the hilts grasped in my hands. "She was the one who gave Rose Nasty a paint job."

She... What?

"She didn't tell me anything..." I muttered.

"Probably afraid you'll get mad if you found out." Evans shrugged.

"Why would I be? It's a good paint job. And by the looks of it, she hasn't modified or tinkered with it, or tried to reload my weapon with other sorts of dust. Being the weapon junkie she is, I should be grateful."

"Maybe because... It looks edgy as fuck?"

"She's gonna have to do a lot more then that to piss me off." I snickered. "Besides, I sort of like these small intricate patterns she carved out resembling a rose. Reminds me of car decals."

"Maybe she thinks you're still mad at her for not allowing you to join in the Vytal Tournament." Evans shrugged again.

My eyes then snapped back to the fight and stared as the black haired leader's scyhte met Jaune's shield. With a snicker, she fired Cresent Rose, blowing Jaune off his feet while the force of the recoil caused to herself was slowed down by the black glyphs Weiss conjured up.

Phyrra then caught Jaune, skidding a few meters on the grassy terrian, all while Nora fired into the ground, enshrouding them with pink smoke to give the couple some time to recover. Ren then fired at anybody who tried to enter the smoke, and Nora mecha shifted Magnhild into a sledgehammer, and jumped up high for an overhead swing, only to get intercepted by Yang's explosive slug shots.

"You do realize I was never mad at her in the first place." I continued. "She, or anybody else in fact, wasn't wrong to say we're weak. The closest thing we've got to this in the real world is martial art courses. And even then, those aren't even comparable to what we have now."

"Hey, tell that to her." Evans said, raising his hands. "I'm just trying to give you a different point of view. I don't have a semblance yet, and even if I do, I doubt it'll be to read minds or insert thoughts."

"You never know man. It's a russian roulette."

I smiled at that advice and agreed to his advice.

"Yeah... I'll thank Rub-"

"Heads up."

I spread my legs right on time for an ice spike to shoot in between with a loud twang, barely missing my crotch by a mere hair's breadth.

"Really Ice Queen?!" I yelled aloud as I stood up, waving my fist in the air. "You did that on purpose didn't you?!"

"Blame vomit boy for deflecting it!" Weiss snapped back as she tried to hold Nora in place with a black glyph.

"Ugh..." I rolled my eyes and settled to Evans's right. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

...

...

"Think the plan is gonna work?" He asked, raising a brow. "We only have one shot at this."

"You're making it sound like I've seen through 14 million six hundred and five ways this could go down." I muttered, putting my hands together as he scoffed it off.

"It'd better." I said flatly as I hugged my knees. "Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't."

_Later..._

"Come on, let's get them sweat off your shoulders before we go eat." I insisted as I led the 4 girls into the dorm rooms, whom almost all responded with defeated sighs.

Never have I seen them so bummed out before.

They did their best after all.

"Hey..." The scarlet reaper tiredly called out from the drawers, snapping me into reality. "Has anybody seen my underwear?"

What

"What do you mean Ruby?" I asked as I closed the doors, thinking this conversation is better done in private. "Didn't you get back here a week ago?"

"Yeah." She admitted, raising a brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well..." I mumbled as I saw Yang enter the bathroom, apparently too exhausted to care. Or, she'd learn to trust me enough. "In the one week you've been back, you didn't use your underwear?"

"I do!" She perked up, blushing slightly as she understood that I had no ill intentions behind my words.

"But I always used the ones I brought from home first, and I just ran out." She pointed both of her fingers towards her briefcase, currently open and full of dirty laundry.

"You sure you didn't misplace it?" Weiss asked, raising a brow. "With how messy you are, I'd recommend you search again."

"No..." Ruby muttered as she rumaged through her drawers. "Even if I did, there's a whole stack of it. I'm sure I'd left some of it in here before I went back."

"It's okay, just search for it throroughly throughout the room. I'm sure you'll find them eventually." Blake comforted.

...

Vrrr

Hm? Oh, it's Evans...

I wonder what he wan-

My eyes widened as my eyeballs almost popped out of it's sockets.

"Louis?" Blake asked. "Is everything okay?"

"U-uh yeah..." I muttered. "I'll uhh... meet you guys in the cafeteria alright?"

"You aren't gonna bathe?" Blake asked, raising a brow.

"I didn't really join in on the training, so I'm not too sweaty. I'll be sure to take one afterwards." I promised. "See you guys later."

"Why do you look so nervous?" Weiss asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Y-yeah n-no... it's fine, everything's fine." I mumbled as I went out.

_Weiss's POV_

The door closed with a louder then usual slam, causing the rest of team RWBY to jolt up.

"Yeah... something's definitely wrong." Weiss mumbled as she crossed her arms.

"Is he still mad at us for not allowing him to go to the Tournament?" Ruby asked timidly, sinking to her knees.

"No Ruby, I don't think that's the case." Blake replied, picking the little leader up by her small shoulders. "If he was, he would've asked us to leave a week ago when we visited."

"Agreed." she nodded. "Something else is wrong, and I don't think it has anything to do with team RWBY."

"Well... let's trust him to handle it shall we?" Blake said calmly. "We don't want him to misunderstand our intentions again."

"Yeah..." Ruby said.

"Let's just trust him on this one." Weiss agreed, nodding again. "I'm sure it's not a major issue, otherwise I'm sure he'll come to us."

"Done!" Yang yelled as she went out with a towel over her golden locks. "Hey, where's Louis?"

_Louis's POV_

We lended him a guest dorm and THIS is what he does?!

Piece of shit!

Ungrateful son of a-

_SLAM_

"DEEEEERIIIICK!" I yelled as I kicked the doors open to see the room in complete shipwreck. A dissaray of scarlet, vermillion, pink and ivory under garments scattered across the room, mostly covered in white, musky liquid.

"Oops." Derrick raised his hands and smiled innocently as he sat upright in bed, with a blanket covering his naked bottom half underneath, with Evans already by his side, arms crossed and giving him a death glare.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" I shouted in his face as I slammed the doors shut behind me. "WHAT HAPPENED TO LAYING LOW?!"

"Hey I am laying low." he shrugged off. "She didn't know it was me did she?"

"What happened to the promise?!" Evans asked louder then usual, the bite in his tone indicated that the once, usually calm man, has something on his nerves.

"We left you for a fucking month to train! We almost died! And were you doing?! A MONTH FOR FUCKS SAKE! You had but ONE job!"

"Look, the deal was to not touch Neo and Ruby... directly."

I unbuckled Rose Nasty and extended it's blades. "Do I look like I'm in the mood to play loopholes?"

"Okay, look I'm sorr-"

"YOU'RE ANYTHING BUT!"

"Louis... calm down man." Evans sighed, rubbing his nose ridge.

"Eaaaaaaasssy there bro... Easy and check out my Yeeeeeezy's." Derrick moaned, as if he'd just been smoking some substance for the past hour, and pointed at his feet, which for some reason still had his shoes on.

"What do you recommend we do? Leave him be?!" I asked, throwing my arms up in the air.

"I would very much like that." Derrick snickered, getting 2 hardened glares in return.

Evans slung his shoulder around me as he jabbed his scroll, and then smiled as he looked back.

"Make sure you enjoy yourself, okay?" He said.

'Are you crazy?!' I mouthed to him, but his expression didn't change.

Oh...

he has a plan.

"Yeah uhh... I'm gonna leave you to it then." I said as we left the room.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked, voice dropping to a whisper as I walked a few meters away from the door.

"Backup. Just watch, no talk."

Minutes passed, and after a few moments of impatience, I heard tapping of heels breaking the silence.

No way...

The malachite twins, each carrying an identical briefcase with their respective colours, came into view as they strolled down the hallways.

"You... want to give him strippers?" I asked.

"Shh, just watch, no talk." He beamed confidently at me as I sighed back.

Maybe that Nevermore's impact had messed with his head.

I'm just gonna roll with it.

Behind them, a towering man with a formal red tie and black suit stepped into view, also carrying a bulky case... Apparently.

Hei xiong.

Or... Junior.

Yeah... Evans has lost his marbles.

"Evans." Junior greeted, loosening his tie as he cleared his throat, not even sparing a glance towards me. "Where is the client?"

"In there Mr J." He pointed at the dorm room Derrick is in. "Let me just write the safe word."

Wait a minute...

Safe word?

"Sure, take your time." The red one, Melanie if I'm not mistaken, replied.

"Just remember to pay in advance." The white one, Militaldes, replied.

"It's all here." Evans said as he took out a huge stack of lien from his wallet.

"You sure?" I asked, raising my brow. "That's a ton of lien."

"Hey, it's his money." Junior said as he stared me down. "Let him do what he wants."

"Blondie is my teammate. I'd rather not call her here to clear up any misunderstandings, unless you prefer otherwise?" I said as I squinted my eyes, causing the trio's to widen and shake their heads.

"Thought so." I scoffed.

"For what he did, it's worth it. Besides, I got some to spare." Evans shrugged off, handing the piece of paper and the lien in Junior's hands.

After a quick count, Junior nodded, and waited outside with us while the twins went inside.

"Oh... hello there ladies." Derrick's voice cooed. "What can I help you with?"

"Actually, we would like to be the ones helping you~" The one of the twins purred back.

"You're such a strong man, surely you could handle more then one of us." The other teased.

"O...ohoho... hehe... yes, I'm sure I can." Derrick replied.

"Good~" One said, then a few clicks could be heard as one of them probably unlocked their briefcases.

"Alright, got it." Evans said as he tapped his scroll. "You could go in now Mr J."

What's he talking about?

"Alright Evans, pleasure doing business with you." Junior said, throwing a dirty glare at me before going in himself.

The door clicked shut.

"J-junior?" Derrick stammers could be heard from inside the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Just... here to watch the girls." Junior replied from within, cracking his knuckles... or his neck.

Evans smirked as he tilted his scroll towards me, causing my eyes to widen as he tapped it.

The doors to Derrick's dorm rooms, clicked and locked into place.

"So..." I started, completely confused as to what is happening.

"Now... we wait." Evans whistled, tapping his scroll again as loud music started to blare from within the room, along with the muffled sounds of Derrick screaming.

In a few seconds, the music grew deafeningly loud, and the cracking of bullwhips could be heard. However, Derrick's shrill screams managed to penetrate through.

"_I like you_"

_CRACKLE_

"OW!"

"_cause you got that something_"

_CRACKLE_

"_that I need in my life so give it to me._

_Cause you got that._"

"STOO-!"

_CRACKLE._

"ANGH!"

Out of nowhere, grunting from what I assume was Junior... pierced the afternoon air.

"_Like you cause you got that something_"

"I GIVE UP! PLEASE! DON'T PUT IT IN-"

"UNGH!"

"NOOOOOO! IT'S TOO BIIG IT'S TOO BIIIIGGG!"

"_...__Cause you got that._"

...

I chortled in a laugh and clung onto the walls.

"What the hell..." I mumbled as I clung to my stomach with tears coming out of my eyes. "How?"

Evans shrugged in return. "It's a long time coming. I just... couldn't get away with it on earth."

...

"_Cause you got that_"

"Safe word! Yes! Uhhh... AH-!"

"HMPH!"

"Uugghh... Uvuvueuvue- AH!"

"HNGH!"

"Uvuvuevuevue Enyetu- BAH!"

_CRACKLE_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...

"Let's uhh... leave them to it shall we?" Evans asked as he shook the mental image of what could be happening in the room off.

"Y-yeah... lets..." I smirked, still unable to recover from what Evans had just done.

As we walked out of the guest dorms and into the open, I was greeted by the red rose.

"Hey Louis." She smiled. "You seem to look... better."

"Y-yeah." I chortled, still imagining what Edgy D is going through. "Sorry if I scared you back in the room."

"I-it's okay!" Ruby said quickly. "I didn't manage to find my underwear though..."

Me and Evans just spared glances at each other, and I nodded.

"Yeah let's uhh..." I said as I slung my arm over her shoulder. "Maybe after lunch we can head to town, let's buy you some new ones. My treat."

"R-really?!" Ruby jittered up and down before coughing into a fist and then putting both hands behind her back, rocking back and forth. "I mean... if it's not too much to ask..."

"I don't mind, besides we got time to spare." I smiled. "Let's go to the cafeteria... shall we?"

**A/N**

**Yeah... this is why you don't mess with Evans. Anyways, I guess it's about time for that 'date' to happen, since Louis feels partly responsible as well. Evans did his part, now it's time for Louis to do his.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Zombiedudecolleti: Relax Liam Neeson. I know that rushing stuff will kill any direction or passion put into this project. Learned that the hard way. Just sit back, and enjoy the show. I'll be sure to take my time on it, not for perfection, but for you guys (And me) to enjoy.**

**sacke110: Glad to see the postive review on the Omake. I honestly didn't think much would like it as they have to go back and forth, feeling like snippets. Noted, story has to flow with ups and downs after all. Hope this chapter answered your question for Edgy D tho xD.**


	27. Chapter 27

"Alrighty, we'll cya later!" Ruby waved off from the closing bullhead doors as it ascended.

"Don't be out too late! We've got our first match tommorow!" Weiss yelled.

"Got it Ice Queen. We'll be back before dinner." I rolled my eyes as the doors clicked shut.

"You seem... Restless." I said, watching Ruby giggle to herself as we took our seats.

"I m-mean... It's the first time we've hung out alone." She smiled as she looked up with flushed cheeks. "I've never gone out with a guy alone, whether it'd be Jaune or Ren."

"What about your dad?" I joked back.

"You get my point." She pouted and rolled her eyes. "You... Don't seem all that nervous though..."

"Well..." I said scratching the back of my head. "It won't be the first time I've gone with a girl alone."

"You've... gone on dates?" Ruby asked, raising her brow, her tone and expression between uncertainty and... Is that... impatience or jealousy?

"No, none at all." I chuckled. "Never been good with girls where I came from. But eh... I've hung out with friends more then enough times to get used to the idea."

"I... see." Ruby pouted as she broke eye contact and crossed her arms.

...

"Blake was one of them." I smirked, causing the black haired leader's gaze to snap back to my eyes in disbelief. "She did talk to me about the Fang before any of you."

The leader huffed, crossing her arms and puffed up her cheeks.

Jeez...

Does she want to hang out with me that bad?

"Hmm..." I thought hard, trying to start the conversation. "How scared were you when you first rode a bullhead?"

"A little..." She muttered.

My brow was raised high up as I stared down at her.

"Okay... maybe a lot." She admitted as her silver eyes finally looked up into my brown ones. "I was clinging onto Yang so tight she barely had room to breathe."

"I'm amazed you manage to develop a recoil style that involves speeds and heights then." I smiled.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it." Ruby shrugged with a smile, then she shuddred.

"Something wrong?"

"No... it's just that you reminded me, back when I was in the proccess of starting to develop my recoil style. The first day to be exact..."

"Pray tell."

She pulled her hood over her head and then looked down to hide her embarassment away. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"How bad could it be?" I shrugged.

"I... was wearing a loose skirt and uhh..."

"Ah..." I faltered as I understood what she was saying. "Did you at least had some cover?"

"No... " She shuddered again. "and to make things worse I was pinned to the side of Signal Academy's walls, so I was pretty much visible for the whole school to view at."

"Pffff..."

"Hey, you promise you won't laugh!" She pouted and flailed her hands on my chest.

"Hh-a I'm sorry... I can't... HAHAHAAHA!"

She looked in the other direction before she let out a loud gasp. "You're not planning to use this as blackmail material are you?"

"Of course not." My laughter settling to a chuckle right as she shot up. "Why would I?"

"I don't know, maybe you want me to step down as leader or something!"

I raised my brow high.

"M-maybe you wanna-"

Unfortunately she was cut off at that moment, the plane dropping 10 feet as it had a moment of turbulence, causing Ruby to teeter and fall forward.

"Ugh..." Ruby groaned as she rubbed her head.

"Eep!" She yelped and her cheeks flared red as she looked up after, seeing two arms around her waist.

"This is why you sit properly." I snickered as the now flustered Ruby reeled back to her seat. "Caught ya... Again."

"Th-thanks..." She said as she pulled her hood over her head and hugged her knees.

"No prob." I smiled and ruffled her hair through her hood.

A few minutes later the plane slowed down in acceleration, the roaring of engines less audible as we descended on the heliport in town.

"Where'd you wanna head to first?" I asked as we walked out into the bustling city.

A few seconds in and I was answered by my stomach grumbling loudly.

"Pffff..." Ruby chortled.

"Welp, I guess that answers that." I shrugged as Ruby roared with laughter, rolling on the floor.

...

...

_Weiss's POV_

"Are you really okay with this?" Weiss asked as the bullhead containing Ruby and Louis took off.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Well, your sister is hanging out with Louis." Weiss raised a brow.

"Mhmm..." Yang nodded.

"Alone." She said, raising her brow higher.

"Mhmm."

"I'd figure you'd be a little... I don't know... Angrier."

"Psh, come on, I'm not that bad. Besides, I've learnt to trust Louis enough that he won't try and pull anything stupid."

_But you are that bad..._ Weiss deapanned internally.

...

...

"Alright then." Weiss sighed. "I just hope Louis has good taste."

"What? Think he'll take Ruby to a bad restaurant?" Yang smirked. "I just hope he can keep up with Ruby's sweet tooth."

"Restaurant? Yang, you do realize what they're going to town for right?"

"Uh... duh, Louis said he wants to take my sister around town to grab some food and reload on dust. Sounds like a standard date to me."

...

...

"Yang."

"Hm?"

"Louis is taking Ruby out to buy her some fresh underwear."

...

...

...

"He's WHAT?!"

"That's why you were so calm." Weiss scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You didn't know."

"They've made it past first base, without me noticing? HOW?! We were always in the same room!" Yang complained.

Without waiting for an answer, Yang charged for the next bullhead en route to town, and boarded it.

"Hey!" Weiss yelled. "We gotta train for the tournament tommorow!"

"Sorry Ice Queen see ya later!" Yang waved off, not even listening to Weiss as the doors closed.

"I just don't get them sometimes." Weiss grumbled, shaking her head. "I know it's an emergency and all, but Ruby could've gone on her own. Right Blake?"

...

...

"Blake?"

...

...

Weiss then reached out for her shoulder, only for 'Blake' to hiss and dissapate into thin air.

Weiss blinked once

Weiss blinked twice.

"Oh whatever..." Weiss rolled her eyes, grinding her teeth as she walked back with her shoulders slumped to train alone with JNPR.

...

...

_Louis's POV_

"You know, at this rate you're gonna get diabetes one day." I deadpanned, watching the red rose munch on a chocolate chip cookie in one hand, triple scooped ice cream, chocolate mint, strawberry and vanilla with sprinkles with a cherry to top it off respectively from bottom to top in the other.

"Diabetes? What's that?" She asked innocently, her voice muffled as she spoke with a cookie in her mouth as she looked up.

"It's... nevermind."

"Tell me!"

"No." I stated and looked away at the pouting girl who was giving me puppy eyes.

"Pweease..."

"No" I said again as she leapt in front of me, and threw my face to the other side.

She leapt in front of me again, refusing to budge this time as her pout grew wider. Adding icing on the cake, she added puppy eyes.

"Pwetty Pweease..."

"Fine. It's a sickness you get when you eat too much sugar."

"Ugh... you sound just like Dad..." Ruby muttered as she turned around, taking out another cookie out of the paper bag and started to munch on it.

At least she isn't calling me daddy like Blake.

"You asked." I chuckled, poking my tounge out.

"I didn't expect you to worry about what I eat." She huffed, crossing her arms. "Yang doesn't."

"I still bought them for you didn't I?"

She huffed again as she marched beside me.

...

...

"Come on, let's do what we intended to do in the first place." I smiled as I looked around the mall for a woman's clothing store.

"R-right..." Ruby yelped as she pulled her hood over her head.

"Hm? What's wrong?" I asked as Ruby overtook me.

"N-Nothing!" Ruby said quickly, brisk walking forward.

"Hey, wait up!" I called out as I chased after her.

What is up with her today?

Something black flickered at the corner of my eye, causing me to skid to a halt and check my surroundings.

"Hmm..." I squinted my eyes to scan around.

...

...

"Must've been my imagination." I shrugged off, going after Ruby.

_Blake's POV_

He isn't willing to try with me... but he's willing to give Ruby a shot?

Even though he knows the consequences is to get beaten up by Yang?

It doesn't make sense.

Does he prefer flatter chests?

Smaller bodies?

As she peeked her head around the corner, Louis turned to her direction, causing her to slip back behind the pillar.

"Hmm... must've been my imagination." Louis shrugged off.

Whew...

That was close...

You can do this Belladona.

You used to be part of the White Fang stealth operations.

Quick and nimble, just like a cat

Stick to the shadows, just like a ninj-

"Blake is that you?"

The hair stood up on the back of her neck, jumping high up as her back faced the pillar.

"Y-Yang?!" Blake yelped as she up scrambled to her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to be the one asking you that." Yang mumbled as she raised her brow. "Didn't you stay back with Weiss?'

"I...I..."

Ugh... shit.

Trust Yang to have perfect timing...

Yeah, there's no way she's getting out of this one.

"I'm trying to-"

"Nevermind that." Yang waved off, causing Blake to heave a relieved sigh. "Is it true that Louis is gonna buy Rubes some undies?"

"Y-yeah..." Blake replied. "Why?"

"He didn't tell me jack..." She muttered, her eyes flashing crimson for a split second while she ground her teeth.

"Probably because he'd knew how you'd react." Blake said with a faint smile.

She didn't have anything against Louis buying Ruby underwear.

Really she didn't.

...

Okay maybe a little bit...

"Where are they?"

"You just missed them. They passed by here a few minutes ago."

"Shit!" Yang stomped. "They couldn't have gone far..."

"Yeah..."

"Ugh... why did I even let them go in the first place?! I'm so stupid!"

"Huh?"

"What if they go to a lingerine shop?" Yang crouched, clutching her head in both hands.

"Yang, I don-"

"Even worse, what if they've gone to buy some toys?!" Yang almost tore her hair out as she yelled aloud.

Blake decided it was best to keep quiet.

It's Yang.

It's better to be with than against her.

...

After a while, Yang finally calmed down.

Or so it seems...

"You thinking what I'm thinking partner?" Yang asked with a malicious smirk.

Blake grinned back. "Stalk em?"

Yang nodded.

Blake's grin grew even wider.

_Louis's POV_

"Found some you'd like?" I asked as I leaned my back on a pillar with my arms crossed.

"Yeah!" Ruby squealed as she rumaged through the stacks of women's under garments. "There are some pink ones here, this white one has a cute pink ribbon on it and... oh look! This one's got pumpkin pete on the front!"

"Uh... huh..." I faltered off as she waved it in front of my face.

Didn't she laugh at Jaune for having that on his hoodie?

"Pick as much as you'd need." I said, causing the black haired leader's silver eyes to seem to sparkle.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You don't have to actually..."

"I'm sure." I smiled back.

"Thank you!" She cheered gleefully, giving me a tight hug.

...

A few moments passed... and she still hasn't let me go.

"Uhh... Ruby."

"Hmm?"

"We're in public, y'know that right?"

"Mhmm..."

"Alright, just so you know." I beamed, ruffling her hair with my free hand.

It's nice to actually have some time outside of campus without too much ruckus for once...

...

...

...

"Did you hear something?" I asked as I looked around.

"No... why?" Ruby asked back as she looked up.

Weird... could've sworn I heard muffled screaming.

Am I hearing voices now?

Man... I must've been traumatized by that impact by the Giant Nevermore.

I just hope it isn't PTSD...

_Yang's POV_

"We're in public?! WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THAT?!" Yang asked in a soft scream as Blake let go of her mouth.

"I don't know..." Blake admitted, her mind wandering off thinking if Ruby and Louis had tried the stuff her and Sun has.

"Just how far have they gotten?!" Yang ground her teeth as she put her fists together, eyes flickering between red and lilac, unsure what to feel about it.

On one hand if Ruby was happy, she was.

On the other hand, she was pissed that Louis hadn't informed her that she's doing... 'that' with Ruby.

"When we get back... I'm gonna kill him."

"I don't think your sister is gonna like that." Blake grumbled. "And neither am I."

"Let me break his legs then!"

"No."

"His arms?"

"No."

"His peni-"

"No."

...

...

_Shift_

Well, I guess now's a better time then any.

"Hey, Ruby."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"T-thank me? For what?"

"These." I replied simply, unbuckling both obsidian hilts.

"Oh! You're welcome!" She smiled gleefully, as if happy that I'd finally noticed. "I'm glad you like it."

"I love it." I beamed back. "You did an amazing job on Rose Nasty."

As my gaze went back to Ruby, her expression suddenly changed to that of somewhat... Defeated.

"Ruby? What's wrong?"

"...meanie..."

"Huh?"

"I said you Meanie!"

"What? What'd I do?!"

"After what I did, you just called me nasty." Ruby huffed and looked away.

"Ah... That's not what I meant!"

"But you said..."

"Okay look, I'm sorry about that. Bad naming on my part."

"First Bloody Berry, then Rose Nasty? You really do suck at naming weapons..."

Blame Suda51

"Alright, I'll rename them to something else, can you please stop sulking now?"

"Hmph!"

"I'll buy you some more cookies and ice cream."

"Okay!"

_Predictable..._ I deadpanned internally.

"Okay, let's just finish up here. Pick the ones you'd like and-"

"Oh look, it's Em and the others from Haven!" Ruby squealed.

Oh shit.

"Hey Em!" Ruby yelled out while waving one arm.

Emerald then turned around. Her eyes widened like dinner plates.

I saw her tugging on Cinder's red sleeves of her dress, desperately trying to grab her attention as she picked out a set of clothes with bandages for breastplates.

Chibi.

Definitely Chibi.

"Let's go there." Ruby suggested.

"Yeah, let's no-"

Without me completeling my sentence, the next thing I knew, she was already face to face with pocahontas.

_Alright, time to hide._ I thought internally as I looked around and found a nearby fitting room.

Perfect.

_Shift_

"Heeeeey... Ruby." Emerald greeted with a forced smile, finally causing Cinder to turn around.

"Hi Em! What are you doing here?"

"Just... buying some clothes for our teamate!" Emerald replied, pointing towards the set of clothes Cinder was holding.

"Oh, looks neat!" Ruby commented.

"I don't know," Cinder mumbled as she stared it down. "It looks... pretty bare."

"Less is more." Mercury shrugged off calmly, then returned to his comic book. "I don't see a problem."

"I'd say you should get it." Emerald replied once her breathing calmed down. "It looks great on you."

"I don't know..." Cinder muttered.

"By the way... I don't think we've met yet?" Ruby thought aloud as she looked up at the taller woman.

"Where are my manners? Ruby right?" Cinder asked. "Emerald told me all about you."

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose!" Ruby introduced herself, shaking her hands.

"Cinder. Cinder... Fall." Cinder said with a smile, one full of uncertainity, shaking Ruby's hands in return.

"What are you doing here Ruby?" Emerald asked, tone calmer compared to before.

"Oh, I was just getting some new underwear. Apparently mine went missing after the semester break. Wonder who could've took em."

Cinder and Emerald looked at each other with puzzled expressions, then their eyes widened a little.

"Weren't you with someone?" Emerald asked, looking over her shoulder. "I thought I saw someone with you."

"Oh right! Good luck shopping then! Whatever you pick, I'm sure it'll suit you." Ruby waved off as she burst into rose petals once more.

_Shift_

Before she could catapult herself out of the store, I grabbed her wrist mid flight, and pulled her into one of the changing rooms.

"Wha-! Louis? Where were you?"

"Here, the whole time." I replied, locking the doors.

"What's wrong? You seem... alerted."

"Nothing." I replied back quickly. "They're just... competition remember?"

"Should I start calling you Ice King?" Ruby huffed, poking her tounge out when I gave her a funny look.

You do that, and I'll rename Zwei to Gunter.

...

...

"We should get going." I stated after a few minutes, hopeful that the coast was clear.

"Yeah..." Ruby panted as she shuffled uncomfortably. "this fitting room is... very cramped..."

It was only then, I realized that our clothes were basically touching as I felt her smooth, sleek back on me. Was it just me? Or did the temperature of the room rise by like... a lot?

"Y-yeah..." I replied, feeling uncomfortable myself as unbolting the doors. "Let's go."

_Blake's POV_

"Wh-What the..." Yang faltered off. "Blake... are my eyes decieving me?"

"N-no..." She replied. "You're seeing the same thing I did."

"Did they just emerge from that fitting room... together... and full of sweat?"

"Yup..."

D-did they... just decide to do it... right here... and now?

"Yup..." Blake replied again, even though Yang didn't ask a question.

"THAT'S IT!"

Yang stormed two steps forward, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let go of me!" Yang tried to shrug Blake's shoulder off, only for Blake to appear in front of her.

"Get out of my way..." Yang growled, teeth grinding, hair blazing and eyes crimson.

"No." Blake stated simply.

Before Yang had a chance to ask why, Blake simply looked in a direction and pointed.

_Yang's POV_

"What is it?!" Yang asked. "Why are you stop-"

Blake motioned with her head, insisting that Yang look in the same direction she's looking at.

"Wha..." Yang faltered off, eyes locked on Ruby and Louis.

Her heart stopped.

Ruby... never looked happier.

She was beaming in the way she hadn't in a long time. Right before Summer's death.

Louis beamed back with a smile Yang had only seen on her father's face... On the day Ruby was born.

Slowly... eyes turned back from liliac as she calmed down.

"You see it too don't you?" Blake asked.

"Hmph..." Yang huffed, crossing her arms as a small smile tugged on the edge of her lips.

"Yeah..." Blake smiled. "Do you really want to destroy that image?"

"No." She replied, shaking her head.

"Ruby doesn't smile like that anymore..." Yang admitted, her grin growing wider. "I can't believe Louis... Louis of all people, would be able to make her smile like that."

"Does that mean you still want to threaten him to death?"

"Of course." Yang huffed. "Even if I approve of it now, he's gonna get it if he breaks Ruby's heart. Other then that, there are still rules to abide and-"

Yang was stopped by a small giggle.

Her head craned to the side as Blake put a hand to her mouth, giggling away.

"What?" Yang asked, raising a brow.

"Nothing..." Blake replied with a small grin. "I just thought it'd be harder to convince you to stop."

"Oh, speaking of which." Yang said as she threw a punch to Blake's direction.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Blake asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Don't ever... stand in my way again." Yang huffed.

"It's what partners do." Blake growled back, throwing a playful punch back.

"By the way... why were you here again?"

"Uhh..." Blake looked left.

And then right.

"Grocery... shopping...?"

"Oh." Yang said simply. "Need help? With how much distance we've covered stalking them, I think you need some extra muscle."

"Sure." Blake smiled back.

...

...

_Later..._

"We're back..." Ruby greeted tiredly, opening the doors.

Hmm.. that's weird.

"Where is everbody?" I asked, speaking my thought aloud.

"Probably in the cafeteria having dinner." Ruby shrugged off, placing the bag full of new under garments on her bunk.

I glanced at my scroll.

My eyes widened as it was dinnertime already.

Time really does fly.

...

...

"Hey Louis." Ruby shuffled around uneasily with her hands behind her back.

"Hm?" I asked back.

"I had fun today..."

Without warning the leader tiptoed on her feet.

Her lips met mine.

She tilted her head to the side as she tiptoed just a little higher, causing me to gasp and accidentally inhale her scent.

She smelled of fresh strawberries.

"Uhhh..." I faltered as she pulled away, unsure of what just happened.

It all happened so fast.

"Thank you..." She giggled, cheeks blending in with her hood as she pulled it over her head to cover her embarassment, and burst into rose petals to hide under the covers of her bed.

...

...

How much time passed?

A minute? Two maybe?

Two minutes where I stood there like an idiot with my mouth agape as I felt my lips tingle.

...

Did that... really just happened?

"Ruby... what...?" Was all I managed to get out.

"You gave me one..." Ruby giggled from beneath her covers. "So I'd figured I should give you one in return."

...

"I'll uh..." I mumbled, unable to get rid of the tingle on my lips or the blush across my face.

...

"I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria. You wanna tag along?" I finally managed to get out. "We hadn't have dinner yet y'know."

"Depends..." Ruby grinned as she poked her head out. "Do they have cookies?"

"Is that your secret to having sweet lips?" I teased as I put a hand to my mouth and seductively licked my lips, causing the leader's face to turn bright pink and hide back beneath her covers.

"Come on, let's go." I chuckled.

**A/N**

**This one took a while... again. Re wrote this about 3 to 4 times cuz it doesn't read like a date, then sorta starts to on the 5th try, but still am not completely satisfied with it. Writing stuff you have 0 experience in is hard. Noted.**

**Also, 7k Views. Thank you!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N**

**Dust yeah! Made it right on time!**

**On time for what you ask?**

**For those of you that don't know yet, today is Creator Monty Oum's Birthday.**

**Of course, this may vary depending on your time zones. For some maybe that day is already over, but for Me and Evans, it's somewhat in the middle of the day right now.**

**So, without further ado, let's wish him a good one.**

**"Dear Monty,**

**First of all, happy birthday!**

**You have been a great inspiration to the lot of us, artists (2D, Modelers, Animators, VFX, etc), writers, singers, and all fans alike. I believe the best way to describe it, just like the words engraved on Summer's grave 'Thus kindly I scatter' , your work and inspirations contagiously spread and flutter around the world, just like rose petals. We miss you, and hope that wherever you may be, you could look down and see how much your baby RWBY has grown.**

**Starting from such a small passion project, with a small team, into a fully fledged worldwide franchise, toys, merch, a game, even made it into Blazeblue somehow. You did the impossible and proved that all you need to do to make a project good, is to do your best you can, that dreams could be made reality with passion and grit.**

**If you manage to see this fic, I hope you don't mind what we're doing with or, to your characters xD.**

**We all hope that, wherever you are, you're having a great time, you will, and always be, our hero.**

**Best regards,**

**Louis"**

**Sorry if I got any of you emotional, even I'm getting choked up typing this in public on my phone...**

**Yeah... Probably should've done this at home.**

**Now that that's all done and said,**** back to the fic!**

"And then and then?" Ruby jittered gleefully in her seat, excited to hear what JNPR did all day.

"Then, Phyrra held out her hand... and SWISH! Just like that, I was almost swept off my feet!" The bubbly member of team JNPR exclaimed.

"That... sounds... awesome!" Ruby cheered as she drank her milk, between Jaune and Nora and across from me.

"And that wasn't even halfway throughout the match." The ginger girl boasted, waving her hand in the air as if to demonstrate their training regime in the shadows she makes with her hand gestures, attempting to make us jealous that we didn't join in.

"Yeah...

By the way... Yang and Blake didn't join us in sparring either." Phyrra stated. "Any idea where they went?

"Oh really?" I raised my brow.

"Yeah." Jaune nodded. "Weiss was the only one there."

"Well... where is she now?" I asked, raising my brow, looking around to see that the alabaster beauty was absent from dinner.

"At miss Goodwitch's class." Ren sighed as picked up his noodles with his chopsticks. "Again."

"She's still at it?!" Phyrra gasped. "She promised us she'll take a break!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my brow even higher.

"We were going at doubles at first, but when Weiss returned we decided to go at singles, since, y'know. It's hard to do doubles with only 5 of us here." The blonde knight explained.

"And Weiss kept persisting that we'd take turns fighting her." The champion sighed. "Even though we told her to swap out, she stubbornly resisted."

"Match after match, she kept at it, saying 'she's not perfect', 'her stance could've been better'." The eastern gunman sighed, shaking his head. "She kept mumbling stuff like 'I can do this alone.' or 'I can do this on my own.' and 'who needs them' In between as well."

"And I don't think she's taken a break since." Nora groaned as she slammed her head on the table. "I know the Vytal tournament is tommorow and all, but even Phyrra knows the importance of a good break."

"What?!" Ruby gasped and slammed her hands on the table. "Then I'll go and-"

"I'll get her." I cut her off, getting up with tray in hand.

"Louis?" Ruby raised her brow. "You should just stay and chat with the others. She's my partner an-"

"After a great day like this one, I'm sure the last thing you need is for it to be ruined by a pissed off Weiss."

"You went through the same thing I did!" Ruby pouted, leaning forwards with her hands on the table for support, then her cheeks turned bright red as she recalled the whole day they had spent together, right before rendezvousing with team JNPR.

Her pout just widened when I waved a finger in front of her, shaking my head. "Nu uh, I didn't have a team fight beforehand, remember?"

"Ummgh...Fine..." Ruby huffed, biting her lower lip and crossed her arms, clearly unhappy with the final verdict, and shrunk back to her seat.

"Take care of her for me, will ya?" I asked the sister team, getting multiple nods in return. "I'll be right back."

I think I may have an idea as to where Yang and Blake went...

That explains a lot.

...

...

Alright...

Time to talk to the Ice Queen that's most probably pissed off at me.

...

...

How bad could it be?

...

_Later..._

"Hyaaah!" Weiss shouted between pants as she jabbed the rapier into a training dummy. "Haaaargh!"

"Raaaaargh!" Weiss yelled as she leapt of her white glyph and lunged at the training dummy with full force, completely obliterating it.

"Ha.. Hah..." Weiss panted heavily as she grabbed her knees, in desperate need of air and rest.

"Who cares... hah... about them?

I... hah... don't nee-"

"You don't what Ice Queen?"

Weiss's gaze snapped to mine, her eyes squinting with rage as she saw me on the leaning my back on the doorway with my arms crossed.

"You sure as dust are late. " Weiss grumbled.

"I'd told you I'll make it back before dinner. I'd say I'm right on time."

"If you're just gonna stand there talking, then get out." Weiss commanded, pointing at the open doorway.

"What's wrong with you today?" I asked, raising my brow as I walked in and closed the doors and completely disobeying Weiss, causing the heiress to grind her teeth and her glare to harden.

"Me? What's wrong with ME?! What's wrong with all of you?!"

"What do you mean?"

"We have a tournament to attend tommorow! And you guys decided to play cat and mouse like it's some sort of game!"

"Cat and mouse? Wait, Weiss, what are you talking about? I just-"

"Yang and Blake chased after you! Right after you left!"

I knew it.

"And you're blaming me for it?"

"Yes- No-, I mean..."

Weiss pulled at her hair with a conflicted expression. "Raaaargh! I don't know!"

...

...

...

"Look..." I said, walking up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, only for it to get shrugged off. "You could be mad at me all you want. I don't mind. But you're fatigued. You need to rest."

"No." She stated. "The tournament is tommorow and-"

"How about this." I stated as I walked a distance away from her. "To make up for it, even though it's not technically my fault, because I made sure Yang didn't know beforehand, I'll spar with you."

...

...

"I was the one who told her." Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious.

Admitting a mistake was something the middle child Schnee was never good at.

"And... how else do you think she would've reacted?" I deadpanned at her.

"I... grrrh..." Weiss's grip tightened around Myrtenaster as she ground her teeth. "She's Ruby's sister. She has the right to know. And even if I hadn't told her, she would've found out eventually. A brute fighter she is, but she's not stupid."

"Relax, I'm not blaming you at all." I sighed. "But I'll still keep my end of the deal. One on one."

"You'll figh- No...

I don't need your help, I can do just fine on my own." She persisted with a cold tone.

Weren't those some of the last words she said before she lost that Death Battle against Mitsuru?

"And not train?" I scoffed, waving it off, getting a puzzled look in return. "I thought you're an efficient woman. This way, we'll both get training and you get to vent your fustration on me. 2 birds, one stone."

...

...

"Ugh..." Weiss rolled her eyes after a moment of thought.. "Fine. What's the wager?"

"You're fast to catch on." I smirked as I positioned myself about 15 meters away from where she's facing.

"I win, you come with me to the cafeteria and rest until tommorow. No buts."

"But-"

"What did I just say?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Fine, and if I win?"

"Then we can do what you want all night."

"Wh-Wha-..." Her cheeks blazed furiously as I realized that sentence... could've been paraphrased better.

"Then we can train all night, while you can correct us, scold us, or train with us, I don't know. Whatever works for you I guess. And when I say we, I mean the whole team." I corrected, shaking my head.

"Eh ehm..." Weiss coughed into her fist as her blush died down. "Of course."

"Your mind just went to the gutter didn't it?"

"After going on 2 'dates'... one where you got Ruby some underwear, how could it not." Weiss asked sternly as she traced 2 fingers along Myrtenaster's blade.

"You know that those aren't actually dates... right?" I asked, crouching as I unbuckled the newly renamed Obsidian Nova. "At least, I don't take it as one."

"Sure you don't." Weiss rolled her eyes. "All guys wants to force their dominance on a girl."

"Not all guys." I rolled my eyes in return. "If all guys are like that, I doubt you'll have the hots for Neptune."

As expected, she looked down in embarassment as a wild blush spread across her face. "W-wha-"

"Too slow Ice Queen." I smirked, appearing behind her as her eyes widened.

_CLANG_

She spun right on time as our blades met, and gave me a vicious grin. "So that's the game you wanna play?" She asked with a cocky tone as she held her ground.

"No, that was just a warm up." I grinned back as I got pushed back.

"Very funny." Weiss wore a cocky smirk as she summoned white glyphs around me. "Stay still, this will be over in a se-"

"You talk too much." I said as I charged in for a frontal assault, raising both blades overhead.

_CLANG_

Myrtenaster met Obsidian Nova mid air once again, forcing Weiss's concentration to crack, and her glyphs to fizzle and dissapate.

"Come on Ice Queen, I thought you were training all day long. What happened to that?" I asked, dodging Myrtenaster passing through my hair.

"You're one to talk. Two weeks in the Emerald Forest can't even get a scratch." Weiss gave a cocky smirked back, looking better already as she pushed me back a short distance away.

"Don't speak too soon." I chuckled, crouching into a stance, awaiting her next assault.

Weiss traced her fingers along Myrtenaster's blade once more, and, with a swift slash, unleashed a torrent of fire, forcing me to create an X with my blades to block the devastating blast that blew me off my feet, causing me to skid a few meters away.

"Not bad." I smirked.

"Are you even trying?" Weiss scoffed, throwing her hair behind her shoulder.

"No." I waved off. "But neither are you. I just wanted to see how much you hated me. With the force you're putting into your attacks, not so much."

"Of course I'm not gonna go all out." She scowled. "You're just gonna get hurt if I do."

If she's just gonna be stubborn...

Then...

...

"Just who are you trying to prove yourself to, Weiss?" I asked, retracting both blades into their hilts, but kept them on hand.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, raising her brow.

"Why are you training so hard? Who is it you are trying to impress? Yourself? Your dad? Winter?"

"Wait.. how did you?!"

If this is what it takes

"What do you want?" Weiss squinted her eyes as her lips scrunched into an unamused frown.

For her to go all out...

"How could you fight in the tournament, if you can't even get through me?" I sneered, wearing a smug smirk to top it off.

Then so be it.

"You asked for it." Weiss scowled, raising Myrtenaster to her face as half a dozen white glyphs appeared and shone brightly behind her.

"Let's dance." I flicked both blades that hissed as it extended out to my sides.

A dozen spikes shot out, embedding themselves onto the concrete floorboard of the training rooms, causing me to flip backwards and dodge.

"Pretty good, for someone who trained under the assistance of an Atlesian Specialist." I snickered.

"Stop running and fight me!" Weiss yelled, conjuring ivory glyphs around me to try and block any means of escape.

"Come on Ice Queen, you can do better then that!" I mocked aloud, deflecting some more spikes that shot past my face in the hailstorm of giant needles that encased me like a cocoon.

"Stay there, and we'll see how long you can keep that smile on your face!" Weiss commanded as she successfully managed to apply a Time Dilation glyph onto herself.

One by one, the glyphs around me flickered and faded away, causing me to turn my full attention towards the heiress, who was charged up, eyes shut in concentration while she lifted Myrtenaster, levelling her shoulders, and into stance.

"Is glyphs all you could do?" I questioned teasingly.

"Raaaaargh!" Weiss yelled, ignoring me to try and deliver a fatal blow to my throat, only for me to unexpectedly charge forward in return, and aimed for her feet, throwing her off balance.

"Who gave you that scar Weiss?" I spat, dusting invisible linen off my jacket with my right hand. "You think you're safe in your damn comfort zone, if it works on one enemy, it'll work for every single enemy afterwards."

"Enough!" Weiss yelled, jabbing Myrtenaster to the ground, as a giant Glyph appeared on my left.

A giant hand shot out, sword in hand, cleaving in a huge radius to try and rid of me, only for me to jump on the tip of the blade, and rode out the rest of it's momentum.

"Come on Weiss," I snickered. "Tell me. Which one hurts more? That scar? Or the fact that deep inside, you know that you will never escape your father's grasp? You'll live your life under a neverending Royal Test?"

"Shut up Shut Up SHUT UP!" Weiss screamed, driving Myrtenaster even further into the ground as an enormous white Glyph appeared below me, spinning and rotating like a giant cog of a clock as a white helmet came into view, causing me to jump back and see it flicker with doubt.

"At this rate you're never gonna break free of his control. You'll continue to obey him, time and time again. You still rely on him for financial support don't you? Train as you may, you'll continue to live under his shadow forever!"

"YEAAAAAARGHH!" Weiss shouted aloud, the glyph flickering solid as the humanoid ironclad rose up, erecting from the ground like a tree sprout.

Whew.

Arma Gigas...

She wasn't able to summon it until much... Much later.

This...

Will definitely speed things up.

A lot.

...

...

...

Man it's still going.

...

...

Not done yet.

...

...

This fucker is a lot taller in person.

...

_CLANG_

It took a booming step forward, sending vibrations through the floor that shook the room like an earthquake.

"Hah... Hargh..." Weiss panted in ragged breaths, holding one hand to her shoulder as she staggered up, only to fall to one knee in exhaustion.

Weiss opened one eye as she leaned on Myrtenaster for support, it widened a second later, her other eye following the first, observing with awe and satisfaction as her gargantuan sized minion came to life, and threw it's similarly gargantuan blade over its shoulder.

_CLANG_

The giant blade shot between my legs to try and cut me in half, causing me jump high up in order to dodge it's assault. I then looked over to Weiss with a small smile, hoping that she would take it as a compliment.

Instead, in return she didn't look... pleased. Her eyes shot wide as she frantically waved Myrtenaster around, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Uhh...

"Weiss?" I asked as I landed, a few meters left to where the cyan and white suit of armour is trying to yank it's blade out of the floor. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Weiss faltered, looking up as the titan turned it's body and overshadowed her like an ant. Winding up for a huge attack by keeping it's blade to the side.

"WEISS!" I yelled out as I shot towards her, propelling myself, tackling Weiss into a prone position so that the blade swung overhead.

"What the hell?!" I shot up as I extended both crimson blades once more. "What's going on?!"

"I can't control it..." Weiss muttered.

"WHAT?!" I yelled as I looked back. "What do you mean?! It's your summon isn't it?"

"I've never done anything like this before." She murmured. "Only Winter can do summoning... I can't control it- look out!" She yelled, pushing me down and blocking with a black glyph.

_CLANG_

The glyph cracked and shattered as Weiss was sent to the other side of the room.

"Weiss!" I yelled as I ran up to her.

How?!

She was able to control it first try on Volume 4!

Sure it was a 6-8 month timeskip, but it doesn't make sense! Is there something I'm missing-

_SLAM_

The collosal suit whacked me with a force so hard that sent me skidding across the room as I held my shoulder with one hand, Obsidian Nova breaking my fall as a black trail tore itself on the training floor.

Not... good.

As I stare at the gargantuan towering before me, my eyes darted between crevice between it's legs, Weiss was still down and out, barely conscious and utterly defenseless.

Well...

it's either that or we're dead.

"Hellfire..." I uttered beneath my ragged breath and connected both pommels of my hilts, screwing them shut with a satisfying click.

"Blitz..." I hissed, jabbing the red button to the side as the crimson blades started to glow orange, a black monitor with a red digital timer counting down for 30 seconds.

29.

28.

"Let's dance."

The titan then charged at me almost immidiately, bringing it's gargantuan blade above it's head with both arms, ready to finish me off with one swing.

"Louis! What are you doing?!" Weiss hissed with one eye open across the room, holding her side as she desperately tried to stand up. "You're gonna get-"

_SLASH_

"...killed?" Weiss's eyes widened as the armour charred and sizzed on it's left thigh, causing it to wobble and lean to it's blade for support.

It didn't stop there, however, and turned it's back to try and kick me with it's good leg, only for one of my blades to penetrate all the way through it's iron foot like an oversized needle.

I slowly skid back as the armour groaned, causing my sneakers to emit an ear piercing squeak from the weight it's applying to try and crush me.

Beep.

The 10 second timer...

I retracted the blade as I rolled to the side and crouched, and ran over to Weiss.

Beep.

The suit of armour didn't hesitate for a second, as it limped towards where Weiss was as it held onto it's leg with one hand.

Beep.

My blade shut down completely, retracting both orange blades as the monitor went blank, with me sliding to where Weiss was.

The armour, taking huge strides, arrived barely 10 meters away as it swung it's blade overhead.

Right then, it froze mid air, just like a still picture.

...

...

...

After a few seconds, it started to slowly hiss and dissapate, causing me to let out a relieved sigh.

"What... was that?" Weiss shuffled about, eyes widening as she looked at my hand on her ankle, causing her to kick it off. "And what are you doing?!"

"I just saved us." I breathed a sigh of relief and detached Obsidian Nova from each other to buckle them on either sides of my jeans.

"What do you mean?" Weiss shrieked as she crawled away.

"Relax Ice Queen." I scoffed. "Try to summon a glyph if you don't believe me."

Weiss just raised her brow, but raised Myrtenaster to attempt to anyways.

"W-what? Why isn't it working?" Weiss stammered as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Doesn't matter..." I shrugged. "What matters is that that thing is gone... and you're out of aura."

"What do you mean?" Weiss tried to get up on one knee using Myrtenaster for support.

"What I mean is..." I smirked. "You've lost."

...

"Not... Yet!" She insisted. "I haven't thrown in the towel... Just... yet... Agh!" Weiss fell on both knees, probably bruising them as she held them a second later.

"You're defeated, come on, let's go." I said as I got up.

"Without an explaination?! No!" Weiss slammed her fist on the floor, grinding her teeth as she did so. "I couldn't have lost. I'm leagues better then you!"

"I thought a Schnee always keeps her words." I sighed as I walked up to her, and extended a hand.

"Grrrh... get away!" Weiss shouted, slapping my hand away as she refused to meet my eyes. "We're still in a middle of a fight! You really want to stand this close to me?"

"If you wanted to stab me then you would've done so already." I deadpanned, extending my hand once more.

Again, she just slapped it away, the force of the recoil causing her to wobble and fall on her rear, letting out a faint yelp as she did so.

...

...

"You know what? Screw this." I sighed as I kicked Myrtenaster away.

"Hey-!" Weiss yelled, but before she could do anything else, I had put my hands below her knees and her back.

"W-w-what do you think you're doing?!" Weiss shouted, her cheeks heating ablaze as she tried to push me away.

"You could barely walk after taking a hit like that, come on." I said, hefting her up in a bridal carry. "Let's meet up with the rest of the team."

"No! Let me go you-!" Weiss flailed around like a slippery fish out of water, almost causing me to almost lose my grasp.

"H-hey! Don't be stubborn!" I scolded her as she flopped about in my hands. "Or so help me, I'll call Neptune to witness me carry you to the cafeteria!"

"Don't you dare!" Weiss stated as her eyes narrowed, and huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Then just shut up and stop moving." I said as I kicked the doors open.

...

...

...

"Is this really necesarry?" Weiss sighed as we made our way down the hallways. "I can walk fine on my own y'know."

"Can you now?" I rolled my eyes. "You couldn't even get up on your own."

"At least, sling my arm over your shoulder or something..." Weiss mumbled. "The other's are going to misunderstand your gesture for a romantic one."

"Ugh... fine." I rolled my eyes as I set her down, and did as asked. "But if they ask what took us so long, you're gonna be the one answering their questions." I stated, as I pushed the doors to the cafeteria open.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she knocked Weiss to the floor before she could even blink, and snuggled up to her chest. "What happened?! Why did you train all day without a break? Why are you so sweaty and-"

She was cut off as the heiress's stomach growled.

"Pffff..." Ruby chortled.

"Laugh all you want." Weiss mumbled. "Last I ate was lunch."

"Told you I'll bring her back." I chuckled as I looked through the cafeteria doors, where Yang and Blake were already present.

If they are gonna talk about it... escpecially after what just happened back in the dorms with Ruby... Wherever they choose, in the cafeteria or back at the dorms... I guess I'll have to be prepared...

"So you did!" Ruby's smiled, wrapping me in a tight hug, and waking me up from my thoughts. "Thank you!"

"No prob." I chuckled. "Let's discuss battle tactics and such over dinner..." I looked to Weiss, who huffed. "Shall we?"

**A/N**

**So, there you go, advancing things doesn't always go according to plan. On the bright side now, at least we don't have to wait 6-8 months for her to be able to summon the Arma Gigas... right?**

**Right?**

**Also, christ I just realized I made 3 chapters based on 1 day alone. Sometimes I guess that tends to happen. On the bright side, at least it isn't realtime.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Zombiedudecolleti (Chapter 27): You have a rebel? What? XD**

**sacke110 (Chapter 27): I wonder how women around would react when a guy comes out of a women's fitting room... hmm... Yeah uhh... don't hold your breath. Don't want you having a heart attack when the adventure isn't over yet now do I?**

**amiin12a (Chapter 28): Hooked? Not yet, it was just a kiss xD. Is that police sirens in the distance? Thank you!**


	29. Chapter 29

"If this your first time watching, allow us to explain the rules." Professor Port's voice echoed over the PA

Oobleck fixed his spectacles, and nodded in agreement. "The matches are divided into 3 distinctive rounds. Teams, doubles and singles age and school year are irrelevant..."

...

"Now let's get back to the fight between Team RWBY of Beacon and Team ARBN of Haven."

The emerald haired girl with the hoodie did a literal kickflip, that is, kicking her hoverboard and launching it at Blake's direction, while rotating 360 degrees to her right. Blake deflected the flat piece of iron and steel using the sheath of Gambol Shroud, sending it straight back at the user in a wide arc.

Not giving time for the purple hooded member to recover, Blake immidiately charged at her, relentlessly using her shadow cloning ability and using both the sheath and the blade of Gambol Shroud to attack her.

The girl desperately tried to block Blake's seemingly endless barrage of attacks, putting the board up to level as her face to hopefully deal with any fatal blow as aura slowly chipped away on the big screen.

An upward slash by Blake then forced the girl to split her hoverboard into 2 pistols, and firing a hail of green bullets downwards, only to fall on her rear on rock solid ice with a cringing thud.

"Your team is doing great!" Sun and commented from the seats beside me.

"Yeah, what he said!" Neptune followed up.

"Did you expect anything else?" I snickered. "Your girlfriend's in it."

Sun blushed at that comment, but his excited expression didn't waver as he cheered Blake on, who... didn't notice, since y'know, she's busy in the fight and all.

...

Vrrrr

Hmm...

...

"Alright, save my seat." I said, getting up.

"Where are you goin?" Sun asked in his usual hyped up voice. "It's your team down there, you're just gonna leave?"

"I gotta take a piss." I said after a moment of thought. "I'll be back in a bit."

Sun and Neptune just gave me a strange look.

"Don't worry, I'll be on time for my team's Victory." I promised as a loud boom echoed and shook the stadium as Yang's fist met with a less fair skinned woman's palm, sending them skidding back apart from each other.

...

...

"Neo." I said as I walked into one of the empty entryways leading towards the stadium, and greeted the raven haired girl who tied her hair into twintails, wearing a black and white frilly outfit. In the dimly lighted hall I saw Neo had her arms crossed and had her back leant on the wall.

She raised one brow and gave me a smug smile, nodding in my direction as if to say _'What's up?'_

"Nothing much." I shrugged off, handing her a brown paper bag. "Here."

...

She looked at it as if it was some sort of prank or something unfamilliar, alien even, and started poking it.

"There's no King Taijitu in there." I deadpanned. "I promise."

Her eyes then locked to mine, her brow raised higher.

"Whats in there then?" I asked, getting a nod in return. I opened the bag to reveal the carbon copies and same amount of under garments that I brought for Ruby.

Surprisingly she just raised her brow even higher instead of unsheathing the blade underneath her parasol, and putting it to my throat.

"No." I shook my head. "I wasn't the one who took your underwear. But I'm sure you knew that by now." I sighed as Neo accepted the bag.

She took a white underwear with a pink ribbon on it, shamelessly waving it to unfold it, as if ignoring my presence.

Then, she stretched it over to her hips, tugging it to it's maximum elastic potential as she stretched it around her waist.

"Heck if I know if it's your size or not." I shrugged. "I just got your the same thing as I got Ruby. Your bodies are somewhat of similar proportions after all."

...

She then snatched the bag from the ground and stuffed it inside.

Her eyes locked onto mine as her expression hardened, and resumed her original position, but this time, she wasn't wearing a smile. Instead, her expression is somewhat... neutral.

"I take it you made up your mind then?" I stood oposite of her as I put both hands in my pockets as I leaned back to the wall.

She gave me a hesitant look, then did a slight nod as she didn't meet my eyes.

"Look." I said as I approached her. "I know it's hard to leave your current team... your family. You probably grew up an orphan, just like Emerald and Mercury did."

She shook her head.

"Only Roman then?"

She nodded.

"Well, either way, Roman's loyalty is tied to them, so it's not like you have much of a choice there."

She nodded... while slightly grinding her teeth.

"Look... I'm not asking you to leave them." I said as I put my hand on her shoulder.

She looked to me in disbelief.

"I mean, I didn't really expect you to turn, just like that." I shrugged. "If you want this to be a one time thing, I don't mind."

Her cheeks blushed furiously after I said that as she looked left and right, as if checking if the hall is empty, her eyes kept going between both the bag full of underwear and me.

...

Oh.

"I meant one deal that we should keep, then we could go back to being enemies, not that!" I quickly corrected to avoid any further misundertsandings, then I looked to Neo... who gave me a smug smile in return. "You knew that wasn't what I meant did you?"

She nodded.

"Man... your playful personality definitely suits you." I sighed with a smile as she handed me her scroll. "Hm?"

'If only we could meet on better terms...'

"Maybe in another life we could've been friends." I finished her sentance, reading my thoughts aloud, getting her to nod. "Well, don't hold your breath. You're always welcome if you wanna join our side, if you ever change your mind."

She pouted, and retyped the message in her scroll.

'As if. I'm not sure Blondie is gonna forgive the way I kicked her ass anytime soon.'

"She will." I smiled. "Escpecially if I explain how you helped."

'I'll put it under consideration' the small girl typed again and gave me a small smile as she stood up straight. 'Thank you.'

"Yang!" Weiss's muffled calls can be heard from the stadium.

"Welp, that's my queue." I said as I waved off. "No problem. Good luck for your match, not like you're gonna need it." I looked back to see the petite girl pulling an eyebag down and poking out her tounge as a gesture of teasing, causing me to chuckle. "See you around Neo."

"Yeaaaaaaargh!" Yang yelled aloud as Blake catapulted her into the remaining members of team ABRN, whose eyes all widened in horror.

_SLAM_

"And that's the match, Team RWBY is victorious!" Port announced.

"We... did it?" Weiss asked as she looked around in surprise.

"We did it!" Ruby yelled as she jumped up high, and waved off to where I was.

I waved, gave a thumbs up and a smile in return.

Great talk.

Now...

Let's go grab some food.

_Later..._

"Is anyone else hungry?" Ruby groaned as she held her stomach.

"I may have worked up an appetite." Blake admitted, before her stomach roared, causing the rest of the team and other people around to stare.

...

...

...

"How can they be so happy all... the time?" Emerald shrieked as she squinted her eyes in fustration.

"Did you at least get what we want?" Mercury asked.

"It's the heiress and the Seer."

"Hmm... alright, at least now we know who we're working with."

...

...

"I'll have the bowl of the regular... please." Yang ordered.

"Ooh... I'll take the same." Ruby said.

...

...

_Louis's POV_

"Hey guys whats up?" I asked, appearing behind them as Blake's food arrived, a bowl of ramen with 3, no, 5 fishes on top, causing her eyes to gleam and shine like stars, and her mouth to water.

"Louis!" Ruby yelped from her seat. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over the place for you!"

"I doubt that..." I deadpanned as Blake and Yang started to ravage their food, and Weiss took out her credit card.

"Aww Weiss what's the occasion?" Yang asked as I settled myself beside Blake.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round." She replied.

Her card swished through the air, and smacked as it embeded itself onto the wooden table.

She just stared, causing the rest of Team RWBY to stare at it as well.

"Get me one with some... beef on it." I said.

The man nodded after returning with empty hands after taking Blake's bowl away, causing her to slam her head down on the table.

"Maybe I could help?" Phyrra ask as she, and the rest of team JNPR approached the stall, with her arms wrapped around Jaune's.

...

...

Hmm...

Tastes like a simple salt and pork broth, nothing too complicated.

The ramen was cooked thorougly, however... it has a bit of a bite to it, allowing for a chewy texture.

To top it off, the beef was tender and medium rare...

Simple

yet... delicious.

...

As I finished my bowl, I looked around at the defeated faces of most of Team JNPR, who looks like their bellies are about to explode.

As I glanced over to my team, only Weiss seemed to have that expression, while the rest of the team (Including me) looked fulfilled.

Then again, I always had a big appetite.

"Man... I'm stuffed." I said, as Professor Port's voice went through the PA.

"Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immidiately?"

"Yes, like they were supposed to. Several. Minutes. Ago." Oobleck added.

"Well, looks like this is it." Phyrra waved off as both Jaune and Nora both sluggishly dragged their bodies to the stadium.

"Go get em!" Ruby cheered, waving her fist in the air.

"Alrighty, I'm gonna go and take a walk." I said.

"You... aren't gonna watch Team JNPR fight?" Yang asked, raising a brow.

"Nah, I managed to see team RWBY score a V" I said, making a peace sign with my hand. "That's enough for me."

"You didn't even stick throughout our whole match." Blake said, getting me to gulp in return. "Sun told me."

Fuck off Wukong...

I got you kitty cat, and this is how you repay me?

"Where'd you go?" Blake asked.

"Sun didn't tell you?" I asked getting her to shake her head. "I went to take a leak."

"Oh come on." Weiss rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't just appear on the other side of the arena if you went to the bathroom."

"You noticed." I smirked.

"Of course I did." Weiss huffed. "Ruby was basically staring at that direction, flapping her hands like the world's most excited penguin right after we won." She said, getting Ruby to blush and try to cover her face in embaressment.

"Well, I got a bit lost." I lied as I scratched the back of my head, getting Weiss to roll her eyes. "The Amity Arena is big after all."

"Can't deny that." Yang shrugged off, looking over to the rest of the team. Ruby, just nodded in agreement.

"But... you seriously don't want to watch them fight?" Ruby asked, pouting widely and putting both hands up to her face.

"Ugh... fine." I said. "Ten minutes, then I gotta go."

"What's the rush?" Yang asked, raising her brow. "You're not fighting till the doubles tommorow."

First and foremost, I don't need Emerald panicking and causing a scene.

Though that is less likely to happen, it is a posibility, and I don't wanna blow Neo's cover.

Second of all, if I want to make it to the courtyard without being completely drenched in sweat and feeling completely exhausted, then I gotta leave as soon as I can.

Finally, Evans is already there, don't want to leave him hangin.

"Uhh... I gotta give my weapon a quick checkup before tommorow." I said as I walked beside them, onto the hallways leading to the battlegrounds.

"What's wrong with it?" Yang asked as she raised her brow.

_Apparently a certain someone decided it was a good idea to summon an uncontrolable familliar._ I deadpanned inside.

Weiss must've read my mind because she gave me a death glare as her brow furrowed, as if saying 'Don't... you... dare...'

"Eh... ran out of ammo..." I said. "And I might've screwed with it a little too much. Yang don't!" I rushed that last part as I saw the buxom blonde start to grin.

"I didn't say anything~" Yang shrugged, though keeping that perverted grin as she took her seat just as the match was about to start.

"But you were about to." Blake rolled her eyes, knowing the very nature of her partner.

"Hey, your books contain just as much jokes as my mind can muster!" Yang pouted.

"Yeah, but I don't speak my thoughts aloud." Blake rolled her eyes again.

"I'm sure you do to Sun!" Yang smirked, and managed to duck on time to avoid a flying fist thrown at her.

"Settle down now children." I chirped, doing my best Ozpin impression, which was probably not that good noticing how Ruby and Yang are putting their hands to their mouths.

The mountaneous terrain erected from the underground storage of selectable biomes as the two teams all went into a stance.

"... Begin!"

...

...

...

"No, it's our symbol!" Jaune complained.

"So, what are we?" Phyrra asked.

"Phyrra!"

"Sorry, I just want to make sure it's clearly defined."

Hmm... so voices are audible from the spectator seats... unlike class.

Even the smallest of whispers are amplified in the match...

Vrrr

"Alright, gotta go." I said as I fished my scroll out of my pockets. "I'll cya all later."

"Come on, can't you stay a li'l longer?" Ruby pouted at me.

"Nah, I'll see you and Weiss soon." I smirked as I glanced over my shoulder.

"See us soon?" Weiss asked Ruby and raised her brow. Ruby just shrugged in return.

_Later..._

"Yo." I waved as I walked towards the helipad.

"You're late." Evans said.

"Traffic." I said as I looked around. "Snowbird isn't even here yet."

He then stared at me as he crossed his arms.

"Look I'm sorry aight. They insisted I'd watch the fight between JNPR and BRNX. Cut me some slack."

"You couldn't have insisted you didn't want to?"

"And said what, I'm not feeling good? They're not school teachers! They're probably gonna drag me to the med bay and avoid me from ever getting out."

"Nevermind." He sighed. "If you got here any earlier you'll be waiting as well. At least you're here."

"Why are we here again?" I asked, raising my brow. "Why can't we just let it play out like it does in the show?"

"Don't act like you don't want to watch their fight." He scoffed.

"Right..." I deadpanned as a low hum emited from the skies above me. "Let's just get this over with."

...

...

_Shift_

"Weiss! What is the big deal... who is it? Who is she?!" Ruby panted under ragged breaths.

"Winter." Weiss said in a calm manner.

"Wait... your sister?" Ruby asked as a young woman in white and navy blue came out of the Atlesian ship, radiating power as she walked down the steps with both hands behind her back.

She wields a holstered saber to her left, and her face has somewhat of an eerie resemblance to Weiss.

_Shift_

"Hey girls." I greeted as I walked over with Evans.

"Louis?!" Weiss and Ruby yelped simulteneously.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"Just... finished fixing my weapon." I said. "So I'm here for some fresh air."

"Fresh air?" Ruby asked, looking around to see that Weiss was no longer by her side.

"Yeah." I admitted. "A bit hard to breathe from the spectator's seats, so I might as well take a walk here."

"Oh, I see." Ruby mumbled. "By the way, Team SSSN won!"

"Did they now?" I asked, trying to sound surprised. "That's great."

"Yeah!" Ruby smiled as she glanced back between Weiss and me.

"Go." I smiled, sensing her conflicted emotions. "I'll wait for you girls here."

"Okay!" Ruby smiled back and jogged up to Weiss.

"Eh... did I miss anything there?" Evans asked.

"Not much." I shrugged. "Probably just the way she thanked me."

"Thanked you?" Evans raised his brow. "For buying new undies?"

"Yeah, gave me a peck."

"Lips?"

"Eeyup."

...

...

"Moshi Moshi, keisatsu desu ka?" Evans chuckled as he picked up his phone and pretended to be in a middle of a call.

"Hey, she kissed me, I didn't do anything to force her into it." I deadpanned back.

...

"What'd Yang think about it?" He asked as he dragged me away to hide from Ruby, Weiss and Winter's sight.

"That's the thing..." I said as I put my hand to my chin and looked towards the floor.. "Both she and Blake stalked me... but hasn't said a word about it till now."

"Huh..." Evans wondered, rubbing his chin as well. "Weird. She's less overprotective then I'd thought."

"That's what I had in mind too." I shrugged.

"You should talk to them about it though." He suggested. "It's something she oughta know if you're gonna date her sister."

...

"You know that that isn't gonna happen right?"

"The talk or dating Ruby?"

"Dating Ruby."

"Not this again." Evans facepalmed as we both leaned back against the stone pillar. "First Blake now Ruby?"

"I don't even know if she likes me in that way or not." I scoffed. "What if she just got overly excited and did what she thought was suitable as a compensation?"

"And kissed you?!" Evans yanked at his hair. "She probably gave you her first kiss as well. It's not something that you just... do out of a whim."

"Maybe it's puberty?" I shrugged off.

"Dude, we discovered porn at about 8 to 10. She's 15 for fucks sake." Evans sighed as he facepalmed once more. "I'm sure it's not a hormonal spike, if that's what you're thinking."

"And yet still as innocent as ever." A small smile tugged at the edge of my lips as I saw Weiss smack Ruby on her shoulder.

...

...

"Is it because she's 15? What? Can't wait 3 years to pop your cherry?"

"It has nothing to do with her age." I sighed. "It's..."

"You can't bring yourself to like any of the main cast in that way."

"Yeah... Not even team JNPR if it comes to it."

"You know it's killing you inside. Deep down, I know you love all of them equally."

"Love is a strong word..." I said with a small smile. "I would say like."

"Only because we're shipping them with others." Evans rolled his eyes.

"Your point?"

"Go for it." He said, rolling his eyes. "Hell, the way you told me that Blake stalked you means she isn't over you yet. Not completely. It hurts me too to see you like this y'know."

"Does it now?" I gave him a defeated smirk.

"I mean, how many times have we watched stuff where the hero doesn't get the girl?"

"Who said we're heroes?" I asked, raising a brow as my smile turned into a frown. "Just because we're advancing some plot points, doesn't make us any more heroic then a mother hawk feeding prey to her children rather then eating it immidiately."

"How many?" He asked again, completely ignoring my statement.

"Rarely..." I sighed as I replied him. "Then again, like Ruby's books, it's probably because most of the movies you watch always ends with a happily ever after."

"I'd prefer not to think of it like that." His eyes rolled up as he stroked his chin, appearing deep in thought. "If you put it that way, it's the same as Phyrra telling Jaune off with the Destiny thing."

"I... I don't know man." I clenched my fists and ground my teeth. "It's fustrating, yes, but I can't bring myself to do it."

"It'll happen eventually." Evans shrugged. "Love makes fools out of all of us."

"Heh... you make it sound like I'm the only one who wants to-"

A blur of white landed beside me, causing my eyes to widen in horror.

_SLASH_

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Evans yelled as Harbinger passed by his head.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" I added as I tackled him down so that he could evade having a bad hair day. "When did Qrow get here?!"

Another question is

How did we not hear him rant about Atlas?!

Or even worse, how did we not hear the clanging of blades?!

Were we that invested in talking to each other that we completely zoned out?!

The pillar fell to the side as Qrow delivered another powerful slash to cut Winter, who was standing beside it, in half.

I rolled out of the way as Evans backflipped in my direction to avoid getting butchered.

Winter just jumped upwards, and landed on his sword, delivering a good kick to the face.

"Woah... ugh..." Qrow shook his face.

Wait...

"Come back here... Ice... Queen..." Qrow muttered as he chased after her, who made her way up the walls of a square pillar.

"You noticed it too?" Evans asked.

"Y-yeah... he seems... sluggish." Though still as much power, if not, more was put into his swings.

Not only that... he has eyebags and his eyes are somewhat... redder?

"Is he... drunk? I mean, drunker then usual?"

"No wonder he didn't see us." Evans murmured, answering my question with another.

What the hell is going on?!

This isn't how it was supposed to play out!

"Louis? Evans? Is that you?!"

Oh fuck...

If there's anybody who could outdrink Qrow...

It's...

"A-Adrian?!" Evans gasped, both in panic and in confusion.

"Sup guys!" A tall, asian man wearing a navy blue hoodie whose hair was spiked outwards and was wearing a black cap with a Youtube play button symbol in front strolled towards us. "Long time no see!" He grinned.

**A/N**

**Well... Damn. ****Looks like a reunion.**

**An unexpected one that is. He probably should've called.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N**

**Vol 6 OST is out. Woot!**

"A-Adrian?!" Evans stammered.

"Maaaan you wouldn't believe how much I've missed you two!" Adrian said lazily, slinging both his arms around our shoulders and gave us a toothy grin. "What's up?"

"What's up?!" I exclaimed as I watched Qrow and Winter slam down on the tesselated bricks on the pavement, causing debris and dust to puff up and enshroud them in a small area. "What do you mean what's up?!"

"What's with the sudden attitude?" Adrian questioned as his brows furrowed. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Not under these circumstances, no!

"What have you done with him?" I asked as I pointed to the blur of white and dark gray, leaping great lengths with each resounding clang that echoed throughout the courtyard.

"You're not gonna ask how I've been?" Adrian cooed, getting both of us to stare at him with an unamused glare.

"Okay fine..." He mumbled. "Who are we talking about again?"

"Him!" Evans said, pointing at Qrow being bent over as he swung Harbinger down, and tearing the courtyard apart, missing Winter, but each blow more devastating then the last.

"Oh, Qrow?" Adrian asked, coming back to a grin. "We had a bit of a drinking session, and I let him smoke my joint."

Fuck me...

"You what?!" Evans shrieked.

"How many?" I asked, watching the duo go to and fro between offense and defense. Even though Winter had elegance in her combat and stances, Qrow is anything but. Unlike in the show, he seems to have sluggish movements of a videogame boss wielding a warhammer, putting enough brute force in each swing to crush a farmhouse.

Our suspicion that he has limited vision became more apparent as he threw an air slash at some of the students that stood around to watch as he wobbled about, causing Ruby to crash into some of them by bursting into rose petals, and Weiss to summon a wall of ice to keep them out of harm's way.

"Uncle Qrow! What are you doing?!" Ruby asked, though it came out in more of a shriek as her eyes lit up in disbelief.

"Leeet your uNcle HaNDle tHis Ruubyy..." Qrow said with a dragged out low voice, eyes half awake and bloodshot.

"Five... maybe six?" Adrian counted with his fingers which had 8 held up.

Adrian be trippin.

And so is Qrow...

"Are you serious right now?" Evans asked, rubbing his nose ridge. "So we're dealing with both a super drunk, and super high Qrow..."

"That's..." I faltered as Winter conjured a white glyph behind her, holding one saber in front and her shorter blade to her back, getting ready to launch herself at Qrow, which had Harbinger fully extended into a schyte.

He never managed to completely extend his schyte in this battle.

Ironwood was nowhere to be seen.

This was bad.

Really

Fucking

Bad...

_Gulp_

There was no other way around it.

I looked at Evans.

Evans looked at me.

"What do we do?" He asked, a tinge of worry in his tone.

"Stall em." I replied.

We both nodded in agreement.

Without saying a word, we leapt into the fray, Evans faced Winter and raised his fists into a brawler's stance, while I unbuckled Obisidian Nova, facing Qrow.

"Ouuutof tHe way kid." Qrow lazily slumped his shoulders as he lifted Harbinger to level his face with both hands, red eyes tracking me like prey as he crouched down into a marathon runner's stance. "Unless you wanna be cut in half."

"This is between us, stay out of the way." Winter stated. "Student's have no place here."

"Atlesian specialist my ass." Evans taunted.

"What... did you say?!" Winter shrieked, hands clenching tighter around her sabre, knuckles probably white under her gloves.

"You couldn't even clear the courtyard of civilans before you started your little bout!" Evans snapped back.

"The quicker that trash is disposed of, the better!" Winter said with a cold edge, posture still bent and the hum from her glyph growing louder with each passing second.

"Qrow stop this!" I snapped harshly as I faced the drunken man.

"HaAve we mEt?" Qrow hiccuped, and then burped as he put his hands to his mouth. "WhAtever... iT doesn't matter... Get out of my way... I'll get rid of that bitch!"

"What did you just call me?!" Winter shrieked, and... leapt, aiming to manuver around Evans.

I extended both my blades as I brought them to the side, as Qrow rushed forward with Harbinger behind his back with blazing speed.

"Louis! Evans!" Both Ruby and Weiss gasped.

"Hellfire..."

"Raging..."

"SCHNEE!" Ironwood shouted atop his lungs, causing Winter's eyes to widen as she stopped at point blank range, just a mere inch away from slicing Evans's throat open, not that Evans would have ever allowed it as he crossed his arms.

Without a second thought, Evans turned around almost immidiately, and faced me as he crouched down and readied his palms on my back, causing Winter's eyes to widen a moment later and leapt over to the side.

"Blitz" I finished as both my blades glowed orange, blistering hot, putting them to level my gaze as the blur of gray and crimson hurtled at me, momentum unwavering even for a second. Obsidian Nova meet Harbinger's blades with an ear piercing screech, groaning like mechanical joints as it caused us to skid back hard, causing bits and pieces of shrapnel and debris to fly under our shoes as he pushed us back.

"I-Impossible!" Winter stuttered, eyes widening in horror as she tried to interfere, wanting to rob me of my weapon, only to be halted as Ironwood raised his hand in front of her.

"Star Dust?! How?!" Winter questioned as she looked into the General's eyes, whose expression is that of worry, but at the same time, helplessness.

As soon as we skidded to a halt, Harbinger started to slowly glow and scorch on it's edge, deforming and warping where it met Obsidian Nova.

Evans got up and grabbed the top of Harbinger's blade with White Knuckle Ride on his hands as the spikes on his knuckle dusters glowed, causing sparks to travel down towards the schyte's handle. Cackling electricty burst through Qrow's fingers not a second later, causing him to let go of his weapon and yell out in pain, waving his scorched palms.

I followed it up by crouching and advancing towards him as I grabbed his side, causing Qrow to instinctively try to grab my wrist.

Changing my stance almost immidiately, I then striked upwards with an uppercut, launching him back a few feet as he landed on his rear with a loud thud. Almost immidiately, he sat upright and rubbed his chin spitting out blood to the pavement.

"Oookay... now that'd hurt." He admitted. "You just pissed me off kid."

"Impossible..." Winter muttered.

"Qrow!" Ozpin yelled as he walked up towards Ironwood with Glynda by his side. "Cease this, immidiately!"

"MaYbe you should ceAse keeping the mAidens a SeCret!" Qrow hiccuped again as he pointed a finger towards Ozpin. "I wAnt recognition for sAving her!"

"Maidens?" One asked.

"What's he talking about?" asked another.

Chatter started to rouse from the remaining crowd who were brave enough to gather around, whispers and chatter growing louder as seconds passed.

I looked over to 3 figures, eyes widen and mouth agape in shock. Before Qrow could spout out anything else, Glynda quickly cracked her crop and encased both his body and his mouth with the destroyed remains of concrete tesselations, wrapping around him like a cocoon.

"Mmph!" Qrow grumbled in protest, but Glynda wasn't about to let him go anytime soon.

"Settle down now people." Ozpin said as he held out both hands. "There's a fight happening at the Amity Coloseum not too far from here, I'd recommend you head over if you're looking for fights."

"Break it up everyone!" Glynda announced, a litter louder then she needed, and smacked her crop to levitate Qrow towards Ozpin's office. "We'll take it from here."

"Hah... hargh..." I panted aloud, jabbing into the ground as I looked over my shoulder. "Are you... hah... okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Evans replied. "I knew... hah... he was tough... but..."

"Yeah... I know." I gulped.

Had Evans been a second late in disarming Qrow, with the length full schyte Harbinger had, Qrow would've sliced and dismembered us in a split second.

We both stared down at Harbinger, who fell to the floor with a loud clatter, all while it clicked and clanked as it mecha shifted into it's compactable form.

"Louis!" Ruby and Weiss gasped as they ran over to my side as I fell down on one knee. "Evans! Are you two okay?!"

"Yeah..." We both muttered as we clambered to our feet, only for Evans to fall back down.

Figures... he was the one who took most of that impact.

"We're fine." I said.

"That was..." Weiss started, only to end up speechless.

"A...mazing!" Ruby cheered as she pulled me for a hug. "You beat Uncle Qrow!"

"I wouldn't say beat..." I mumbled, helping Evans to his feet. "Just... stopped him, temporarily."

"What do you mean 'just' stopped him?! You two just beat a Pro Hunstm-"

"Mr Louis, Mr Evans... a word." Ozpin said, beckoning to his office.

Uh oh...

"Adrian, get the fuck over here, you're coming too!" Evans exclaimed at the man behind the pillar.

"Ugh... So much for a warm reunion..." Adrian grumbled as he came out.

_Later, at Ozpin's office._

"Please don't take it out on Qrow." I pleaded. "He's wasn't himself, still isn't."

"You know of Mr Brawnwen?" Glynda questioned, raising her brow.

"Mph Mppph mph!" Qrow exclaimed with a muffled tone as he spoke into stone.

Probably exclaiming something about being famous among continents.

"Word spreads around about the legendary Hunstman who comes, drinks, wrecks shit and leaves." Evans said, coming to my defense. "It's not that surprising."

"I... see." Ozpin said. "And who is this man, why have you invited him despite calling only for the two of you?"

"He's..." I looked to Adrian, who had Flextape over his mouth, groaning muffled protests. "An old friend."

"And the one responsible for Qrow's condition... unfortunately." Evans added, rubbing his nose ridge.

The three lecturers just raised their brows as they exchanged confused looks with each other.

"Go on." Ironwood beckoned.

"He... how do I explain this?" I asked rhetorically, looking at Evans for support.

"Basically he drugged Qrow." Evans explained to his best potential.

"Drugged him?" Ozpin raised his brow as he looked over to the levitating coffin. "I assure you, Mr Brawnwen may be into his drinks, but he isn't one to just foolishly accept it from anybody, he could handle spiked drinks, there isn't any chance that he-"

"Not that kind of drug." I said as I gestured with my hands.. "It's not the one that knocks you out, it's the one that makes you feel good."

"Aphrodisiacs?!" Glynda gasped. "Your friend was trying to get Mr Brawnwen in bed with him?!"

If I agree to that, then we can stop right then and there.

We looked over to Adrian, who just gave us an unamused glare.

Oh it would be so easy wouldn't it?

"Yes." I smiled. "Something like that."

"But he doesn't seem sexually aroused or desperate." The general pointed out. "If he was we would've noticed."

Me and Evans looked at each other, and our eyes widened.

"So I guess Harbinger's length and size wasn't to compensate for anything after all." Evans shrugged.

"MPH! MMPPPH!" Qrow mumbled in protest.

Probably along the lines of 'I'll kill you later.'

"We're getting off topic here." Glynda pointed out.

"Right, anyways." I continued. "With the amount he took in, effects should wear off somewhere around tonight, so you should probably strap him to a bed or something in the mean time."

"Mph! MPPPH!" Qrow grumbled as his shoulders fell up and down.

"Glynda, if you would." Ozpin gestured towards the door as Glynda sighed, and marched out of the doors.

"Seeing as we aren't dismissed yet, that isn't the only reason you called, is it?" I asked, as my gaze snapped back to the two elders in front of me.

"No, it isn't." Ironwood said. "Schnee, enter."

Winter then marched inside the room with her heels clicking, sparing a horrified glare towards the both of us as she walked up to the general's side with both hands behind her back.

"You promised." The general growled. "I could have you disqualified at a moment's notice."

"The deal was to avoid using Star Dust on the tournament, which I haven't even entered yet." I stated, crossing my arms as I put up one leg. "What did you expect me to do when I'm facing Qrow fricking Brawnwen?!"

"Mind your tounge." Winter snapped. "This is the general you're talking to."

"What I expected you to do." The general said with a stern glare. "Is stand down while you let my Specialists handle the situation."

"Well she did a damn good job at that didn't she?" Evans mocked. "Had Ruby and Weiss not intervined, casualties would've been a thing."

"Casualties?" Ironwood raised his brow as he looked down on Winter.

"And you're blaming me for it?!" Winter yelled, accusingly pointing her sabre towards the chair Adrian is sat in. "From what I heard outside your friend here is responsible for Qrow's state!"

"He would've been drunk enough to start a bout anyways!" Evans shot up from his seat.

"Enough!" Ozpin, usually calm, slammed both palms down on his table as he stood up, snapping all our gazes onto him. "Mr Evans, please sit back down."

After Evans complied, Ozpin turned around to face the windows as he calmly drank his coffee. "James, you are not to disqualify anyone. You're both in my kingdom and my school, you don't have the final call as to what happens to my students."

"Mr Louis, you did the right thing." he said after a moment of silence, causing Winter's eyes to widen. "However, with such a lethal weapon, I would recommend you keep that to yourself, don't you agree?"

"As I explained to the general beforehand, if Qrow Brawnwen hadn't forced my hand, I wouldn't have the need to use it."

"I... apologize," The general hesitated as he tried to give a sincere apology. "On my Specialist's behalf. It seems like she let her emotions get in the way instead of making civilian lives a priority."

"You can't be serious..." Winter muttered under her breath, only to yelp as she looked up too see Ironwood glaring down at her.

"Mr Louis, Mr Evans, you are dismissed." Ozpin said.

"Wait." Winter halted us as we got up from our seats. "How?"

"Hm?"

"How did Qrow ran out of Aura so fast sparring with two students?" Winter asked as she grit her teeth. "Even I..." She hesitated at her failiure, but continued nevertheless. "I wasn't able to wear him down."

"You'll find out soon enough." Evans smirked, going out of the room.

"General, Professor Ozpin. Winter." I said my goodbyes as I bowed.

Winter made an effort to follow, only to be halted by the General's arm being put in front of her once more.

...

...

"OW! What the hell was that all about?" Adrian gasped for air as we ripped the flextape from his mouth.

"We're gonna have a talk later..." Evans promised as he grumbled with his shoulders slumped. "You just destroyed the first impression of the best coolest uncle."

"How did you meet him anyways?" I glared. "Where'd you wake up?"

"First thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a pub, and all my currency in my wallet was changed. It was legible here... so, of course, first thing I did... was drink."

"And...?"

"That's when someone came into the bar, slamming his weapon onto the table to try and strike fear in the bartender or whatever, but eventually asked for a drink anyway."

"So you..."

"So, obviously, I challenged him to a drinkoff." Adrian rolled his eyes. "4 bottles, chugged it all down like it was water."

Christ...

"So how'd you persuade him to smoke joints?" Evans raised his brow.

"Right, I was getting there." Adrian waved off. "Reaching into my jacket, I was surprised to see all my substances intact and complete, so... I took out a cig to smoke it, as I tried to remember how I got there in the first place."

Me and Evans just stared at each other, exchanging puzzled looks, though for different reasons.

"You... don't remember?" Evans asked.

"You had drugs in the car?" I questioned.

"Nope and no duh." Adrian rolled his eyes. "I thought I told you about it Louis."

_Well... that very well explains how we crashed... _I deadpanned internally as I gave him a dirty glare.

"Continue." Evans beckoned anyways, waving it off.

"Then Qrow asked me for one, looking stressed as shit. And then one became two, then two became three..."

But... why?

As if hearing my thoughts, Evans answered for me.

"Ugh..." Evans facepalmed. "Of course he'll be stressed out at this time in the show, he just barely managed to save a maiden."

Right... Amber...

"A what now?" Adrian raised his brow. "Qrow mentioned something like that at the courtyard as well didn't he? What's a maiden?"

...

"Dude, you know we're in RWBY right?" I asked him.

"What's that?"

"You... never watched RWBY?" Evans asked.

"I remembered the characters I was playing in Blazblue had somewhat of a familiar name, but no. Why?"

Great...

"It's a-"

"Louis!" Ruby and the rest of my team waved from the hallways.

"Did you get into trouble?" Weiss asked.

"Nope." I smiled in relief, then my gaze went to the little leader. "But your uncle did."

"I am so, so so very sorry about him!" Ruby exclaimed. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually not like that."

"Wait... Qrow's here?" Yang raised her brow.

"Yeah, you just missed him." I sighed. "He's in good hands though..."

"He'll be better tommorow." Evans reassured.

"Cool." Yang said carefreely as she put both hands behind her head to lean back. "Whose your friend?"

"Adrian." Adrian said extending a hand. "We're from another world I guess, Earth to be exact."

...

...

"ADRIAN WHAT THE FUCK?!" I rolled out of the way to squatted down as I held both hands on my head.

"Please don't hurt too much, let thy death be swift." Evans muttered as he prayed.

...

...

"Uhh... what?" Yang raised her brow. "What are you two doing?"

"Death?" Weiss raised her eyebrow as well. "Why would you want to die here? Actually, why would you die here?'

...

I blinked once.

I blinked twice.

I looked over to Evans, who had one eye open.

"No... black hole?" Evans shakily asked as he got up. "No singularity?"

"Apparently not..." I said between panicked pants, legs feeling like jelly as I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

Well... that was anticlimatic.

Team RWBY just exchanged glances at each other in awkward silence, and then roared with laughter, even Blake sparing a giggle as tears started to flow out of their eyes.

"Nice prank Louis, you can knock it off now..." Yang laughed.

When they saw our faces remained startled and worried, they stopped laughing.

"Wait, you're serious?!" Yang asked with her mouth agape.

"There's another world?" Ruby asked. "Earth?"

"Is that how you were able to 'luckily guess' everything?" Blake asked. "Is that a thing among your people?"

"Limited to some... I guess..." I said between heavy breaths.

"Well, why keep it from us for so long?" Blake asked.

"A couple of reasons..." I muttered. "First and foremost being afraid that you all wouldn't accept it."

"Another being tearing a hole in reality." Evans continued. "That tends to happen when you play with space and time."

"Bah, you two watch too much sci fi movies." Adrian shrugged off, causing us to glare at him. "Paranoid fucks."

"We have all the correct reasons to be!" I said in my defense, exchanging glances between him and my team. "You guys... seem to take this... pretty dang well."

"Well, you're our friend, and our teammate, your ability to lucky guess had to come from somewhere." Yang shrugged. "Other then it being paranormal I mean."

"Besides, we're willing to accept you for who you are. We accepted Blake easily enough, and I forgave her easily enough. So why lie to us?"

"So you... lied about it being a supernatural ability?" Blake questioned, raising her brow.

...

"For all our sakes... yeah, I did." I admitted as I grit my teeth. "I'm sorry."

Well... there goes all my efforts.

I just destroyed all the trust I managed to build up within them...

All the time spent.

Gone, just like that.

...

After a moment of exchanging puzzled looks however, team RWBY just smiled.

"Don't apologize!" Ruby stated as she pat my back. "This is awesome! We get to be friends with aliens!"

Aliens?

"I... guess you could call us that." Evans said. "But make no mistake, we're just like you guys, both biologically and mentally, it's just that we have superior knowledge on the show."

"Show?" Weiss asked, raising her brow even higher as she crossed her arms.

"Let's head to the cafeteria for dinner." I sighed. "We have a lot to talk about..."

_Meanwhile..._

_Somewhere in the RWBYverse..._

The ears of a petite cat faunus with messy hair, wearing a cyan coloured vest with a white tee inside, twitched as her raven locks flowed through the air in the afternoon breeze.

...

"Can you see?" Blake asked her.

"Yeah." She replied, winding Gambol Shroud as she pulled her hand back, ready to toss it like a boomerang as she aimed at the training dummy.

"You sure?" Blake said as a small smile tugged on the edge of her lips.

"Mhmm."

"How about now?" Blake asked, covering her hair to her daughter's left eye with her own hair.

"Mom stop." Her daughter giggled.

"Alright, three fingers." Blake stated, as the little cat faunus took aim.

...

"Hey you guys want mayo or mustard, or both?" Yang yelled from the picnic area, setting some meat and fish on the grill which sizzled, providing enticing fumes that filled the air.

"Who puts mayo on a hotdog?" The small cat faunus asked, eyes twitching and nose scrunching in disgust.

"Oh, your aunts." Blake replied. "Uh two mustard please, thanks mama!"

"Got it. How about you two? Mayo or mustard?"

"How about ketchup?" Weiss purred, swooning over Ruby, who was playing a game on her scroll, as she used both elbows for support.

"Or... ketchup, we got ketchup too." Yang stated.

...

"Mind your elbow..." Blake said.

_Thump_

Blake couldn't help but smile at the bullseye, as the tip embed itself on the training dummy's core.

"Haha, good job kitty kat." Blake high fived her daughter. "Go get your weapon."

...

"Hey guys!" Yang yelled. "Enough practice! Tuna's on!"

"Alright!" Blake yelled back as she waved. "We're coming, we're hungry."

"Li let's go."

...

No response.

"Li?" Blake asked once more as she looked behind the training dummy to check if the smaller cat faunus was there.

She...

was not.

...

...

"Honey?" Blake asked, as she looked around her to find that she was...

alone.

...

...

"Hey babe!" Blake shouted aloud in panic as she approached the dining area.

"Babe?!"

"Weiss!

Ruby!"

"YAAAAANG!"

...

...

**A/N**

**Adrian... what have you done?**

**A ton of stuff happened in this chapter, luckily after re reading it didn't seem too cramped.**

**Let me know what you think though...**


	31. Chapter 31

**Well hot damn...**

**We just surpassed 10k views.**

**Quite the milestone for someone who took up writing for a hobby recently if I do say so myself.**

**For that, here's an extended chapter for y'all!**

**Twice the length, minus A/N's and Reviewer Sessions.**

**Cheers!**

**Also, I'm loving the Volume 7 outfits so far. Ein Lee is killing it!**

_Winter's POV_

_After the elevator door closes._

Are you kidding me?!

"General Ironwood, Sir, with all due respect, you can't be serious with letting them off the hook like that!"

"I don't intend to." General Ironwood replied, snapping his glare from the door towards Ozpin. "But it seems we don't have a choice."

"James..." Ozpin growled, something we never heard from him before due to his calm nature.

"He knows of something classified, all of our data about Star Dust is off records... how?!" She asked.

"He claims to have invented it." Ironwood snarled, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "But it seems like he hasn't used it for any intentions but self defense thus far, in the Emerald forest, the training chambers, and at the courtyard, so we have no evidence or reason to arrest him. He's clean."

Spy drones... of course the general wouldn't be so careless as to leave him roam free without precaution.

Wait

"You knew?! And yet you still allowed him to participate in the Vytal Tournament?!" Winter asked with a tone that was anything but calm.

"The decision was not mine." Ironwood sighed, rubbing his nose ridge.

"Why?!" Was all she could shout out as she turned her glare to Ozpin, slamming both hands on his table. "Do you not realize the potential danger in-"

"What I do with him... Or any of my students... is none of your concern Miss Schnee." Ozpin stated as he shot a cold glare at her. "I seem to recall Mr Louis saying you prioritized beating Qrow over the protection of civilans."

Winter paled.

"Uh... I... I-"

"Care to explain how Qrow became of priority compared to innocent lives?"

"H-He had to be subdued." She replied as calm as she could, but her face grew paler. "From causing further harm."

"And can you explain how you failed, oh so miserably at that?" Ironwood glared at her. "And how_ two_ students managed to do it with ease?"

"I..." Winter grit her teeth.

"I don't know." She admitted in the end as she looked at the floor.

...

"Schnee, we'll talk about this back in the ship. For now you're dismissed."

"But sir-"

"Dismissed." Ironwood repeated with a flat tone.

"Grh..." She spat and made my way into the elevator.

_Ozpin's POV_

"You noticed it as well didn't you?" Ironwood asked, with his back against Ozpin.

"Yes... such a coordinated attack made by both Mr Louis and Mr Evans does not make him a threat."

"That is not what I'm talking about... and you know it." Ironwood said flatly, turning to face Ozpin. "Qrow has a huge Aura pool. For it to be depleted like that..."

"That does not make them a threat." Ozpin replied, putting down his coffee mug on the table.

"What do you mean _not a threat_?!" Ironwood yelled. "If he decides to switch sides to that of the Queen, what then?"

"I assure you, Mr Louis has no such intentions. Neither does Mr Evans."

"What if you're wrong?" Ironwood accused as his glare bore into Ozpin's own brown orbs.

"Will you be able to stop him?" Ironwood continued, after gaining no reply from the white haired man.

"James-"

"Will they, let alone you, be able to... end him if necesarry? Or will your students fail us like team STRQ did?!"

"ENOUGH!" Ozpin slammed both hands onto his table, leaving a small cracked depression across the holographic screen that extended across the table.

"Tch..." Ironwood spat as he turned around, entering the elevator. "Consider yourself warned Ozpin, I have a bad feeling about him."

...

...

...

Ozpin sighed as he sipped from his mug, facing the window.

"Unfortunately..."

...

"So do I."

_Cinder's POV_

"Are you certain?" Cinder asked with a raised brow.

"Messy clothing, bad hair and smells like my dad on a weekend. It's him." Mercury replied with a shrug.

"And who did you say was the students who had the nerve to just... leap, into the fray?"

"Evans and Louis." Mercury replied without hesitation. "I didn't manage to see the rest of the fight, to avoid getting caught. But if it's the same Qrow who interupted the procedure, then they're as good as dead."

_That's too good to be true. Someone like little red wouldn't just let that happen. _

"But... why?" Emerald questioned with a raised brow.

"Why what?" Mercury asked back with his own brow raised.

"Why interupt the bout? Clearly that Atlesian Specialist was on par with him. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe to avoid further casualties?" Mercury shrugged as they turned their attention to Cinder.

"No." Cinder stated. "Ozpin and Ironwood would've been there to stop them before things get out of hand."

_The seers won't just interupt like that for no reason._

"Was there anybody else there with them?"

"I don't think so." Mercury said as he put his fingers to his chin in thought. "Though I do remember one dude with a cap, has this weird triangular logo on it."

"A clan? A school?" Emerald's eyes closed to recall on anything that could give them clues.

"Oh, sure Em, A clan that gives off caps with their logos for merchandise." Mercury sarcastically snorted.

"Hey, I'm just trying to be helpful here!" Emerald countered.

"So... what do we do?" Mercury asked after a moment of silence.

"Nothing." Cinder stated, looking over her shoulder as her hand grabbed the door knob. "We stick to the plan. But keep a close eye on them both from now on. I won't take any chances."

"You're the boss." Mercury admitted with a shrug.

"Yes ma'am." Emerald replied firmly.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go grab some fresh air." Cinder said, as she closed the door.

...

...

_So far those two haven't done anything to disrupt my plans._

_Do they have something in mind..._

_Are they even trying?_

_Maybe something so well hidden that even I hadn't been able to spot yet?_

_Or do they realize that the fall is inevitable, and are willing to let it happen, just like that?_

_But what..._

_What could it be?_

_Hmm..._

...

_Bump_

"Excuse me, I'm sorry." Cinder apologized, as she snapped out of her thoughts to see a navy blue jacket on her eye level.

"I should be the one apologizing." The tall man replied.

"Have we met?" Cinder asked, looking up to see someone who isn't registered on the student's database she had been scrolling through.

"I don't think so." He looked down, a blush forming across his cheeks as he was caught admiring her smooth and creamy legs, eyes trailing up to her high stilt on her scarlet dress with golden, oriental patterns.

"Adrian." He introduced, holding out his hand.

_About 20 minutes ago..._

Louis's POV

"So..." Yang started with a raised brow, arms crossed as she leant forward as she sat on the edge Blake's bed, patiently awaiting an answer as she tapped her fingers on her forearm.

Currently sat in the dorm room, are Yang and Blake on the edge of Blake's bed, and Ruby and Weiss on Weiss's bunk. Adrian and Evans sat on the bottom of my bed, while I sat on top, forming one big, seperated oval.

I had a pillow placed on my lap, nibbling on my bottom lip as I thought of how I'm gonna deliver the news to them.

"Right... " I mumbled. "We'll start explaining under a few conditions-"

"I think we have the right to know without having any conditions asked of us." Weiss stated, her knuckles turning white on the edge of the bed as she did so.

"Right, but these are necesarry." I replied, looking at each one of them in the eyes. "We won't tell you otherwise, and there is no harm in not telling, since we aren't even supposed to be here in the first place. We could just let things play out as they should, and forget Evans or Adrian even said anything prior to this incident, and nothing will change.

"Louis... I..." Evans muttered apologetically.

"It's alright. You slipped. What's done is done." I said. "Adrian on the other hand..." I deapanned.

"Hey, in my defense I didn't know we're in another world to begin with. I just thought we're in another country and wanted to test out if they'd speak english."

"You're high." Both me and Evans deapanned.

Team RWBY then exchanged confused looks, then, after a moment of silent agreement, settled on nodding.

"First and foremost, you are not to leak any of this information out to anybody else."

"Why not?" Weiss raised her brow. "If there really is another world out there, shouldn't the world of Remenant be made aware?"

"Because, they'll think you're crazy, and the last thing I need is any of you..." My glance turned to Evans and Adrian. "Any of us in the mental asylum. Heck, I'm not sure if any of you would even believe what I'm about to-"

"We've learnt to trust you with your very accurately placed lucky guesses." Yang shrugged. "Nothing concerning you should shock us anymore."

"You'd be surprised. Also, I don't hear a yes."

...

...

"Okay..." Ruby whispered under her breath after a moment of thought, while the others settled on nodding.

"Second, nothing but the truth will be revealed here, so believe what you will, call us crazy, insane or outright looney. But with 3 of us here you could confirm if what I'm saying is true or false."

"Right..." Blake said.

"Third and finally, I know I said to promise not to tell anybody earlier, however..." I said as my stare bore into their eyes. "under no circumstance, no matter how dire... will any of you leak any of this to Professor Ozpin. Or, to be specific, his group. That includes Uncle Qrow." I said, looking at Ruby on that last part.

"Group...?" Ruby asked with a raised brow. "The professors?"

"Right... I'll explain it as soon as you agree to our terms."

...

Silence.

It was expected of course, but I never expected this silence to be so deafening.

With the change in atmosphere even Evans can sense, I just threw a nervous glance at him.

...

"But... why him specifically?" Ruby finally spoke out, breaking the tension. "He's clearly the most experienced out of all of us, and our headmaster."

"For now." Evans grumbled, knowing very well the reason why.

Volume 6 has proved that Ozpin isn't the most trusting of people. Had he had this information leaked to him, he might ensure no words get out.

Or worse.

"For now?" Blake asked.

"Just, agree to those terms and we could talk about it."

"What's with these conditions?" Weiss asked. "

Right...

No pressure.

Just in case Ironwood decide to send spies after our recent shennadigans regarding a certain drunkard and his specialist, we decided it was best to take this conversation... into our private quarters instead of in the public eye.

...

And lock both the doors and the windows.

Just in case.

...

"Okay so... where do we start?" I asked as I rubbed my palms together.

"Let's start from the beginning shall we?" Yang said, arms crossed as she leant back against the wall on Blake's bed. "Like how did you even get here."

"Okay." I heaved a sigh of uncertainess. "Right, so first of all, what you all have to understand is that... You're characters from a show."

...

...

"I'll let that sink in for a moment."

...

...

"A show?" Ruby finally said, breaking the silence. "Like a TV show?"

"An internet show actually." Evans corrected.

"That's ridiculous." Weiss scoffed. "You're saying we're not real?!"

"We didn't say that." I said as my hands weaved through the air, as if trying to explain through hand gestures.

I knew they wouldn't be able to accept the truth so easily.

"If you are, there is no way you're responding in lines that weren't given to your voice actress." I explained.

"Voice actresses?" Ruby asked. "Like cartoons?"

"Yes Ruby... something like that." I answered.

...

...

"So... In your world, we're a... cartoon." Yang said, raising her brow as she looked down to her lap, trying to proccess what we had just said.

"Anime actually, made by the Americans." I pointed out.

"Yup." Evans agreed, popping the 'p' at the end.

"A...mericans?" Ruby asked.

"It's a country." I explained. "Just like there are 4 seperate kingdoms here, we have our own continents back in our world."

"Well, it's foolish to think that any world wouldn't have those." Weiss scoffed, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious.

"Riiiight." I deadpanned. "So, you guys are from a show titled... well, it's our team name actually."

"The show is called RWBY?!" Ruby jumped up in glee. "Does that mean-"

"Yes Ruby." I said as a small smile tugged at the edge of my lips. "You guys are the main characters."

"Yipeee! We're main character's in our own show! Oh I can't wait to tell Uncle Qrow and da-"

"Eh ehm..." I shot her a warning glare.

"R-right..." She shrunk down to Weiss's side. "No telling anyone..."

"Good." I stated. "Now, Yang said from the beginning right?"

Yang nodded.

"In all honesty, we died."

_Hurk _

_Cough_

_Cough_

Adrian spluttered his lemon tea, which he decided (For some reason) to take back with him to my room.

"Great..." I deadpanned. "Now I'm gonna have to clean my sheets before I go to bed..."

"W-wait wait wait! Rewind a few seconds... We died?!"

"Yeah sherlock." Evans deadpanned at his wet shorts, specifically, Adrian spat all his lemon tea to his crotch, making it seem like Evans had wet himself. "If you really hadn't remembered what happened before you woke up, we went on a mountain trip together."

"The mountain trip..." Adrian looked into the distance.

More specifically, into Weiss's non existent racks.

"W-w-what are you doing?!" Weiss shot up, as she crossed her palms on her chest. "With s-such a lecherous expression no less!"

"He's gone." I deadpanned, waving a hand in front of his face. "Relax, he didn't intentionally try to stare you down. His mind just... wandered off, and you just happened to be in his line of sight."

"R-right..." Weiss sat back down, scooting out of Adrian's peripheral vision.

Without warning, Evans clapped loudly, causing Adrian to jump up, and snap his thoughts back to reality.

"H..uh?" He muttered.

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand..." I waved off. "We died."

_Hurk _

_Cough_

_Cough_

Adrian couldn't help but splutter lemon tea all over Evans's face this time.

"Really?!" Evans smacked the drink out of his hands.

"You're cleaning the floors by the way." I mumbled to Evans.

"W-we died?!"

"Okay, just how much alcohol did you chug down?!" I asked him. "If you have that much of a short term memory I'll fill you in later on!"

"There's no need to shout." Adrian muttered as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Where do I even wait?"

"Up to you, but make sure you end up outside at the end of the day." Evans muttered, wiping his face with some paper towels I handed to him. "We'll be out in half an hour or so. An hour at most. Stay out of trouble."

"Fine... But you guys better fill me in tommorow!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." I snorted back as he went out, slamming the door behind him.

"What's with him?" Weiss asked.

"He's known for having the worst temper among us." I replied, getting uncertain looks in response. "Trust me, this is an average Monday for us."

"Yeah..." Evans said as he put the tissue down. "As we were saying..."

"You guys died." Blake pointed out, propping her head on one hand.

"Right." I said, standing up as I helped Evans to throw the paper towel away. "We crashed, thanks to Adrian being the damn driver."

"Sped of a mountain to be specific." Evans facepalmed, rubbing his nose ridge, still in disbelief that had happened. "And then we woke up in the Emerald Forest."

"Wait wait, you let him drive?" Weiss asked with a raised brow. "Why are you guys even surprised you died? Sounds like you have a death wish to me."

"Hey, in our defense, we didn't know he drank before her drove." I shook my head. "Besides, it was a car that he rented, so we don't really have a say in that matter."

"People from Earth are weird..."

"Excuse me?" Me and Evans asked in sync.

"N-nothing!" Weiss yelped, pulling a pillow up to her face to try and avoid eye contact with either of us.

"Anyways..." I said as I kept my glare on Weiss. "We woke up in the Emerald Forest with no recollection what so ever as to what happened beforehand."

"None?" Ruby asked sadly. "Not even family?"

"Not really, just bits and pieces of the past, like broken fragments. At least... that's what I'd thought before I came in contact with Evans." I said as I shifted my glance at him.

"Yeah, I reminded him of how we died, but the memories were vague... it only went into perfect clarity the longer I talked to Louis." Evans admitted, eyes shut as he recalled the memory.

"So... you guys woke up in the Emerald Forest with no memories... that explains why you ran from us in that Nevermore and Deathstalker fight." Yang deadpanned, shoulders slumping and proceeded to stare at me.

"Please don't remind me." I groaned as I facepalmed. "In my defense, I didn't have my aura unlocked, and, I didn't have a weapon. Plus, I knew both teams would be more then enough in handling them-"

"Once again, happened in the show." Evans pointed out.

"So... you guys knew what was gonna happen before it even happened." Weiss muttered.

"Mhmm." Both of us nodded.

"So that explains... most of the stuff we've encountered with you so far." Yang said.

"Eeyup." I nodded, popping the 'p' at the end. "Any questions?"

"Yeah." Blake said, raising her hand like she's asking a question in some class. "Why'd Evans pull off my bow?"

"O-Oh... That haha... Well... You see..." Evans stammered.

"Okay." I sighed.

Here we go.

"We admit, that even though we could've let the show run as it is, it was my idea to advance a couple of plot points. So don't hold it out on Evans. He just tagged along on the idea I came up with."

"O...Kay?" Blake raised her brow. "Wait, you said you're advancing them... So my Faunus identity would've been discovered nevertheless?"

"You... Actually sorta reveal it yourself in an argument with Weiss, right before the fight at the Shipment yard, 2 semesters ago." I said, scratching the back of my head as I closed my eyes shut to think. "However... Not everyone was supposed to know that you're a Faunus, only team RWBY."

"So why-"

"Because how else can we reveal that you're a Faunus without getting sensed or detected by your superior instincts?" Evans shrugged. "It was the only time I saw you distracted."

"R-right..." Blake said.

"Besides." Evans shrugged. "You're gonna take off your bow eventually afterwards, showing your ears to the world."

"Next?" I asked.

"Yeah." Yang started, eyes flashing crimson for a split second as her expression hardened. "Why were you two such dicks to begin with?"

Me and Evans looked at each other, then shrugged.

"It seemed like an interesting character to play that could use some character development." Evans said.

"I don't follow." Yang answered honestly with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well... Imagine me being... Me." I explained. "Had I been nice to all of you, I wouldn't have been able to bring Blake back, she believed that I was as detached from the team as she is." We all looked over to Blake, who had her eyes on the floor, for confirmation, to which she gave a small nod. "or kicked Cardin's breastplate before we went to Forever Fall, causing him to target me instead of Jaune."

"When did that happen?" Blake gasped.

"How'd you think I broke my knee?" I smirked.

"Ohhhh..." Team RWBY looked up as if deep in thought.

"We were supposed to stay in character the whole time." Evans shrugged. "But well... Louis's heart just couldn't take it anymore. And had I been the one to be stuck with your team, I don't think mine would either."

"For all it's worth, we're sorry for our attitude early on." I apologized.

After looking at each other, they just shrugged it off, and nodded.

"Apology accepted!" Ruby smiled while swinging her legs on the edge of her bed. "Oh, me next!"

"Do you have Hunstman and Huntresses in your world?" Ruby asked.

"No." We both answered in sync, causing Ruby to pout.

"But on the bright side, we don't have Grimm either." I added.

"So you know about everything?" Blake asked with a raised brow. "And everything that's gonna happen here on out?"

"Oh oh! what am I thinking now?" Ruby asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"We're not able to read minds." I deadpanned, causing Ruby to huff and pout.

"Not... Everything." I admitted. "To be honest, when we died and got sent into Remenant, the series was still ongoing. Judging by what Miles and Kerry said in panels, it's a long way from being over."

"Who are they?" Yang asked.

"Your... New directors." Evans muttered.

"What happened to the old one?" Blake asked.

"Monty Oum... your creator..." I said, looking down on the floor. "He... Died."

...

...

...

"Oh..." Was all Ruby could say, while the others just looked down in silence.

Perhaps they really wanted to meet their creator, had there been a chance.

...

"So..." Weiss said, trying to change the topic, attempting to diffuse the situation. "What's with your weapons? And why did my sister looked so surprised that you'd have them?"

Ah great...

Should've seen this coming, sooner or later.

"Star Dust." I replied honestly, my gaze snapping into her blue orbs.

"What Dust?" Weiss asked.

"Star Dust." Evans repeated "Enhanced Dust, known only, so far, to Atlas Military."

Evans pulled out one of his spikes for us to see. "Figured how to compress it into this tiny of a volume when I was researching for Dust in the library, knowing we aren't able to survive without any proper Hunstman training. Adjusted the formula a little bit, experiment and tinkered with it, and with a bit of Electroboom, Eureka, Star Dust."

"What's Electroboom?" Ruby asked.

"It's... A channel of a guy who experiments with volatile stuff... Up close and personal." I explained to the best of my potential. "He's basically ignoring the whole 'dont try this at home' thing, and doing it at home."

"Sounds... Dangerous." Weiss scoffed.

"So was experimenting with Star Dust." Evans admitted. "I only passed the knowledge onto Louis once I knew the formula was stable."

"Well, Star Dust in its raw form isn't even stable." I said, pulling Obsidian Nova to my view. "It's as if I have 2 nukes in these. Heck... using Overdrive always caused the handles to be too hot to touch at the end of the day. I'm only able to endure it due to Aura being a thing."

"Nukes?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"Big kaboom bombs." Evans explained. "It's that bad."

"Wait wait wait." Weiss interupted. "So, both Obsidian Nova and White Knuckle Ride can utilize Star Dust. What about our weapons?"

"It'll probably melt on contact." Evans said rubbing his chin. "Wouldn't recommend trying it."

"Awww..." Ruby pouted. "And here I thought I could make Cresent Rose a super awesome Cresent Rose."

"What's wrong with Cresent Rose now?" I asked, raising my brow.

"N-nothing, it's just that a massive upgrade like that sounds awesome, doesn't it?"

"It would if there isn't any risk." Evans pointed out, causing Ruby to shrink even further in her seat.

"So... that's how you guys were able to beat Qrow?" Yang asked.

"Eeyup." We answered.

"Figures, you two wouldn't stand a chance against him, we didn't." Yang shrugged.

Ouch, the truth stings.

"Can't deny that." I shrugged off.

"Prove it then." Blake said.

"Hm?" Evans raised his brow.

"Prove that you have otherworldly knowledge of us that others don't." Blake stated. "And look into my eyes as you say them."

"Didn't we just do that?" I asked, turning to her and raising my brow.

"I'm gonna need a lot more then that if you want me to believe you."

Okay.

Shouldn't be surprised. This is Blake we're talking about.

She's been through a lot.

"Well, I know basically everything you decided to tell me before it even happened on our little outing." I said, causing Blake's ear to twitch and fall to it's sides. "The White Fang, rough childhood, Adam Taurus."

"Wait who?!" Yang shot up from beside Blake.

"He's my..."

"Ex." I finished, gaining a glare from the cat faunus. "Sorry Blake," I shrugged. "Either I reveal this now, or you won't tell anyone about it, causing more trouble to arise in future events."

"BLAKE HAS AN EX?!" Everybody except Evans shot up from their seats.

"Eeyup." I shrugged, causing Blake to shrink even further. "The teasing can wait though, afterwards."

"O-okay... that could be because I told you about him before I... Before I..." She stammered as she looked at Evans, then glanced at Ruby, who couldn't meet her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." I reassured her. "He knows."

"I confessed." She finally managed to blurt out. "Anything else you could do to prove your claim?"

Welp, go big or go home, am I right?

"Let's see... how you left Khali and Ghira back at Meanagerie to resume working with the Fang, despite their wishes not to."

Blake's cat ears drooped down as she remembered them, and she shrunk into the corner of her bed as she hid behind her knees as she lifted both legs up.

"Who are they?" Weiss asked, raising a brow in question after seeing Blake's reaction

"Her parents." Evans answered flatly.

"I also know the reason you don't wanna go back to them is because you're either embarassed or afraid about being wrong... about the Fang, probably the latter. You fear that they hate you for straying from the right path, and instead decide to stick to the wrong path this whole time, the path you'd believe... No, the path Adam Taurus had you believing, was right. You stuck to the Fang when your father had left the position of leader to Sienna Khan, where the Fang started to take a turn for the worse."

"Okay... I believe you now..." Blake muttered under her breath.

"Sorry." I apologized with a smile, shrugging a 'hey you wanted an answer' kind of shrug. "Just thought the whole team should know. But know this Blake. They still love you, no matter what. You're their daughter, and nothing's gonna change that."

"Thank you..." Blake said with a small smile.

"Anybody else need further convincing?" Evans asked.

"Since I'm her partner... I guess I'm next!" Yang fist bumped the air.

"Yang huh?" Evans scratched his chin. "Let's see... Well, since Blake isn't so obsessed about the White Fang as she should've been, I guess Yang didn't tell her the story."

"Right..." I agreed. "You wanna take this one, or should I?"

"Be my guest." Evans raised his hands. "I don't need my aura to be depleting tonight. And I would rather not have any bones broken before tommorow."

"Story? What story?" Yang raised her brow.

Okay...

Here goes nothing...

With a nod, and a heavy sigh, I braced myself for what's to come.

"To calm Blake down, you told her about your mother, Raven Brawnwen, and how you went on a search for her at a very young age."

Yang got up and her eyes flashed crimson.

"H-how?"

"You told Blake on how you..." I glanced to Ruby. "How you took Ruby out to the woods, and how you regretted it, on how if Qrow hadn't been there to save you you'd die, along with Ruby as you pulled her on a toy wagon. And I quote 'There we were, a toddler asleep at the back of a wagon, and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help'."

"Yang?" Ruby questioned with a rasied brow.

"Okay okay, I believe you now, just stop." Yang pleaded, grinding her teeth. "I meant to say some happier tales. Damn, they even exposed our deepest darkest secrets huh?"

"I recall no memories of this happening..." Ruby murmured.

"Obviously." I shrugged. "You were way too young. Also, they had to. It was your way to convince Blake to the dance."

"I think that's enough proof, no?" I asked, as my gaze moved to the scarlet reaper and the heriess. "Unless you two need any further convincing?" I asked, looking towards Weiss and Ruby, who shook their heads and frantically waved their hands in disaproval.

"Good." I smiled, glancing at the watch to see it was almost midnight. "It's getting late, and we have a match to attend to tommorow so... why don't we all get some shuteye and continue this tommorow?"

"Aww, but... but!" Ruby pouted, trying to summon waterworks onto her eyes.

"Especially you little miss." I said, walking up to her to ruffle her hair.

"But I won't be fighting tommorow!"

"That may be." I replied. "But we can't have you exhausted if you want to cheer us on."

"Mmmph..." Ruby bit the bottom of her lip, trying to convince me with her puppy eyes once more.

"Tommorow." I smiled, pulling her hood over her head. "We'll answer every question you girls have for us tommorow, but until then, we still have a doubles to win, and it won't do you any good to stay up late."

"I agree with Louis on this one. Wow, that's weird to say." Weiss tasted her own tounge. "Leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."

"Whatever Ice Queen." I rolled my eyes as I ushered Evans to go out, and opened the doors.

"And where do you think you're going?" Weiss asked. "If you're gonna cause us to lose tommorow-"

"Just gonna have a little chat with Evans." I snorted. "Won't be long. You guys can hit the hay without me."

"Alright then." Yang yawned as she stretched her limbs. "Goodnight!"

Before she even hit her pillows, she was already snoring loudly.

There was, however... one problem.

Those weren't her pillows she was drooling all over.

Blake sighed, kicking the buxom blonde off her bed by her bum.

"Owww!" Yang yelled as she rubbed her head. "What was that for?!"

"You have your own bed." Blake stated, and started to lay down.

"What? Can't we share a bed? We're both girls!"

"No." Blake said flatly, flipping her pillow over.

"Don't cause too much of a ruckus." I reminded them. "Other team's are trying to sleep."

"Goodnight Evans." Ruby yawned, putting a hand to her mouth. "Goodnight Louis~"

"Goodnight Ruby." I replied.

As the door clicked shut, I turned back to see Evans smiling at me with the most shit eating grin ever.

"What?"

"Yeah... someone's sleeping well tonight."

"Fuck off. I'm not Derrick." I groaned, motioning for him to walk down the hallways with me. "Let's go find Adrian."

_Ruby's POV_

As the doors clicked shut, Ruby turned her face to see Yang with the most poop eating grin ever.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah..." Yang smirked. "Someone's sleeping well tonight."

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby groaned, pulling her hood over her head as a wild blush spread across her cheeks. "Go to sleep, please!"

"She's not gonna let this go." The heiress said as she puffed up her pillows. "And honestly, neither are we. Why don't you just confess already?"

"I-I don't..."

"Ruby, please." Weiss huffed. "We know about your little crush on Louis."

"Ugh..." Ruby covered her head with her pillow. "I will, just... not now."

"And why not?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"Cuz he has a tournament to concentrate on." Ruby said. "I'll just be a distraction if I confess now. I don't wanna get in the way... escpecially after he's worked so hard to get our approval."

"I can see where you're coming from." Blake said.

"Sorry Blakey, did we wake you up?"

"It's fine." Blake said, popping one eye open. "I was thinking about stuff anyways."

"Stuff Louis said?" Yang asked, raising her brow.

"Yeah... I just have this... feeling that he isn't telling us the whole truth."

"Meh, I'm sure it's not a big deal. Besides, you heard what he said, we should get some rest. He'll answer any questions we have for him tommorow." Yang waved off as she turned off the lights. "Night guys!"

_Evans's POV_

"You really think it was a good idea though?" Louis asked as we strolled down the corridors.

"About what?" I questioned back with a raised brow.

"Not telling them about the fall of Beacon tonight."

"They won't be able to sit still if we do." I sighed. "Though..."

"You couldn't help but feel guilty as shit?" Louis finished.

"Yeah..."

Because he feels the same way.

"Well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that tommorow."

"If they ask, it's not like we could lie." Louis said, clenching his fists. "They'll find out eventually when it actually happens."

"Well, then we just have to avoid them from ever asking that question now don't we?"

"Y-yeah..." Louis said. "Anyways, how about you?"

Me?

"What about me?"

"Well... you were bothering me about my love life earlier." Louis deadpanned.

"Well, like I said at the courtyard, you should get together with them." I smirked. "Which one, heck, why not both?"

"I told you I can't."

"Oh, but you will."

"Make me."

Perhaps I will.

At least that way I could pin the blame on him if he asks why.

"Okay." I shrugged as I put both hands behind my head. "So... what does your love life have to do with me?"

"Well, I know the real reason you wanted to see Winter fight Qrow was because of your interest in Winter." He started.

"Hmm..." I hummed as I crawled up behind him. "Your point?"

"Well, in the end we had to interupt, and fight the both of them. You said some mean words to her, both at the courtyard and at Ozpin's office."

"Uh huh..." I slowed my breathing as I was point blank range from his neck. "Go on..."

"Well, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Isn't Winter your waifu? To say those thing-"

A series of gagged choking and gurglinf resounded from Louis's throat as I put him in a chokehold.

"Ev- W...what are you-"

"Shhhh...

go to sleep little one..." I whispered in his ear, tone taking on a menacing edge.

"Y-you... bas...tard" Louis muttered as his shoulders slumped as his face went blue, and fell on the floor, unconscious.

Nobody will find out the identity of who my waifu is.

Nobody.

**A/N**

**O_O**

**But we do!**

**Evans: "Who?"**

**The audience, duh.**

***Proceeds to choke the audience.***

**Evans no! We need them for views and reviews!**

**"Too late... sleep, little ones..."**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N**

**Sorry this one took a while, got pretty dang busy this week, and probably will be in the oncomming few months. But hey, on the bright side, this is another long chapter for you all! I felt like the last chapter being long is a bit of a cheat, since it's mostly just a recap chapter of somewhat. And I didn't really know how to achieve this chapter without making it this long, otherwise it'll feel rushed... so... yay! Win win!**

"Uurghhh..." I groaned as light started to pour into my eyes. "What... happened?"

My mind was in complete dissaray as I woke up in cold sweat, unable to recall what had happened beforehand that would lead to such a bad headache.

It was as if I was lacking oxygen as I went to sleep.

"Damn..." I cursed under my breath attempting to get up to hold my head, but felt binded by a heavy weight on top of me, as if there was an Ursa that decided to take a nap on top of me.

"What the..." I muttered as I made an attempt to get up, only to feel not just one... but instead, several weights on top of me.

Did I say on top? I meant all around me.

One on my right hand.

Another on my left.

One on my mid section.

Another on my legs

The fuck?

I made to move, only to feel my palms brush past something... hairy, or furry, followed by a small moan from the left, and a sharp gasp from the right.

"Uuummhh..." Someone groaned and shifted in their sleep as I felt the weight on my right arm shuffle about, as something smooth and silky brushed past my legs, causing me to yelp.

"What the fu-" I craned my neck forward, and regretted it almost immidiately.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

Currently atop me, is none other then our cat faunus, the short jets of air coming out of my nostrills as I started to hyperventilate caused her ears to twitch every now and then.

I then craned my neck to the left, where hugging my left arm, was the blonde brawler, drooling all over my hand as she snuggled into it even further as to drown my arm in her golden mane, causing it to go out of view.

My neck then turned 180, where Ruby's grip just tightened on my arm as she burried her face, snuggling into my bicep and muttered something about cookies while she ate in her sleep.

I tried to move my legs, only for it to get caught on something silky smooth.

_No doubt about it._ I gulped. On my legs... is none other then the heiress herself, laid with her back facing up as her ivory hair spread out like a white halo among my pelvis.

And we were all...

Naked.

It didn't take long for a red hue to overtake my cheeks as I couldn't keep my eyes glued to the ceiling for long. Blood roared in my ears as I realized where my hands were... And gulped.

Obviously, the first thing that happened when I felt that are their erect peaks on different parts of my body, was cause natural reaction down there...

Calm down boy!

...

...

Fuck!

Don't... Move...

"Mmmmph..." The heiress groaned, tilting her head to the side, causing me to shiver as her flowing, silvery hair brushed past big willie and the twins, causing goosebumps and chills to down my spine.

That was when I felt that by bed was drenched.

OH GOD!

PLEASE BE ADRIAN'S LEMON TEA FROM LAST NIGHT!

I manage to crane my head in a high enough angle as to see past Blake's raven locks, but avoided moving my body in fear of waking of them up.

A small snicker caught my attention as a lone figure stood leant back by the door frame with his arms crossed.

...

Son of a-

I'm gonna kill him...

Currently standing with his back on the door frame, was Evans with the smuggest (Is that even a word?) Most shit eating grin he had I've ever seen.

'EVANS WHAT THE FUCK?!' I mouthed as I glared at him, my cheeks turning as red as Ruby's hood as I saw the door was wide open.

Which means...

We've been streaking, visible to the public eye for a while.

The question is...

For how long?

He took his time to dig into his pockets to fish out his scroll, and with all the strength I could muster from being awoken so early, I mouthed 'DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE.'

He then pulled his scroll to the same level as his eyes, and laid it out horizontally, as if to take a full sized family picture of the horrific scene right in front of him.

I tried to squirm my way out to lunge at him, only for my hands to brush past both Yang and Ruby's nether regions, ellicting a small moan from the both of them.

FUCK!

Evans's grin just grew wider as he tapped on his scroll.

I closed my eyes as I prepared myself for that 'click', but it never came.

I opened one eye to see Evans pointing towards the table to my left, to which, I had to crane my neck back to see. My bed which groaned heavily in protest due to the mass atop it going past its limits, threatening to crush it's supports.

_Oh for the love of god.. please don't break!_

Atop the table, lays my scroll propped up against 2 of Blake's Ninjas of Love books stacked upon one another, and a voice recording started to play. Soft enough for me to hear, but too subtle to wake the rest of the team up.

_"Like I said in the courtyard, you should get together with them. Which one? Heck, why not both?'_

_'I told you I can't'_

_'Oh but you will.'_

_'Make me.'_

_'Okay'."_

Then there was a beep, signalling the end of the voice recording.

Motherfucker!

'This was NOT what I meant!' I mouthed as my nose flared.

'Maybe not.' he shrugged admittedly. 'But you did say 'Make you.' So, you basically gave the steering wheel to me by that point.'

'This is the most efficient way. No going back now. Take your time to pick...' He mouthed back with a smirk as he waved off. "Or maybe... You won't have to pick at all..." he whispered as he closed the doors, and I heard the locking mechanisms click shut.

BULLSHIT!

THIS IS SEMBELANCE ABUSE!

_Fuck this!_ I thought as I scrunched my eyes shut as I prayed that I could go back to sleep. If they wake up first they're gonna be the ones handling this! I am NOT gonna end up getting thrown out of the window!

As I felt Blake stir in her sleep and her breast compressed on my chest, I couldn't help but let out a small whimper.

Evans, you semblance abusing cunt!

_Blake's POV_

"Blake..."

That voice...

"Blake."

Stay away!

"Blake!"

No...

NO!

"Gah!" Blake yelped as her eyes shot up, and awoke in cold sweat. "What... just happened?"

A nightmare...

That voice... the voice of her former lover.

...

Damn...

And she'd thought she'd gotten over him already. Must've been something to do with her subconsciousness or something...

Maybe it was Louis bringing it up last night?

...

Maybe.

...

Wait a minute...

_Since when was my bed ... this hard?_

She's been in worse places when she was with the Fang, under bridges, out in the open, sometimes even sleeping in ruins to name a few, but...

This hardness... it was comforting and warm as well...

Not to mention something else hard and... Long... was... poking her bum.

"BluuawWWhat?" She blurted out, eyes widening in shock as she saw the owner of such pectorals, which she recently realized, what, or, in this case, who she was sleeping on.

LOUIS?!

She didn't need to look back to know what that thing on her rear is. And with her books providing a vivid mental image, definitely isn't helping!

Her gaze went to the left, where Ruby was hugging his arms.

Then to the right, where her partner was hogging his other arm.

...

As she saw Weiss's bunk empty, and nowhere to either sides, she'd figured it wasn't a good idea to look back...

...

Did they... drank something last night?

Why are we all in such a state of undress?!

If they did, she hadn't remembered.

...

No, she was sure she'd remembered if they did.

All they did last night was talk.

Then...

Perhaps... this is another dream?!

...

It's not rare for one dream to lead to another after all.

With that thought in mind, she just laid back down with a smile on her face as she nuzzled her face on Louis's chest.

Ahh... a lucid one as well. She thought as she traced a finger around Louis's left nipple, seeing his face stir in his sleep, causing her to giggle a bit.

She bit down on her lips, licking them afterwards to prevent herself from drooling all over.

This may be a dream... But I'd rather have my lips somewhere else...

The thoughts of last night's conversation then automatically replayed in her mind.

Louis is from another world...

Questions... Answers

Questions... Answers

What did Ruby say last night again...

...

_Wait..._

_Ruby... hadn't confessed?_

_That means I still have a chance!_

With that in mind, she snuggled her face into Louis's chest with a goofy grin on her face, and took a good waft of his scent.

Huh... just like how he smells in the real world... This dream is definitely a far cry from the one prior...

...

Just... let this dream last...

a little while...

longer...

_Ruby's POV_

Mmmm... cookies...

Cookies...

Yang no, those are mine!

MINE!

_Chromp_

"Mph!" Someone yelped as her bed started to jiggle.

Milk and cookies...

My milk and cookies...

"Mmmilk and cooookieees..."

_Nibble_

Someone yelped in pain again, forcing Ruby out of her slumber.

A familiar, masculine voice.

"UnnnghmmMil- Whaaaa?!" Ruby rubbed both her eyes with both hands to make sure she wasn't still in her sleep.

She blinked once.

She blinked twice.

Her cheeks instantly blazed pink as she looked down at their state of undress.

She looked down on his arm, where 2 bite marks are present, one on his bicep, the other on his deltoid, causing her cheeks to go further in the hue of red.

_Where is my hood?!_ She thought as she frantically tried looking around for some cloth. _I need to cover myself up! He could wake up at any-_

That's when she noticed a pair of black, fluffy ears from the corner of her eyes.

_Blake?!_ She perked up to look over Louis's torso.

Yang?!

WEISS?!

Naked?!

How did this-

Why did this-

"Ah!" Ruby squeaked as she felt something on her lower lips, her cheeks immidiately going from pink to red as she started to pant.

_His hands..._

_Why is it there?!_

_And why does it... feel... _

_weird?_

_..._

Louis then stirred in his sleep, causing her body to freeze up and stop in it's tracks.

Oh no...

Is he awake?

What am I doing naked here?

Then again, what are they doing naked too?!

Louis lifted his hand from her pelvis, and put it up against his chest, removing the warmth almost immediately.

A guilty feeling crept up from her core, shooting all the way to her bare chest as she shivered, rubbing her hands on her arms, considering the thought as she bit down on her lips.

"Unnnghhh..." Ruby mumbled as she held her breath, before swooping down on his side, as she carefully slid her fingers under Blake, careful not to wake her up as she formed a link around his torso.

Ah... Warm...

He'll forgive me for this...

I'm naked and cold after all...

Besides... She thought as she giggled, face up close against Louis as she delivered a kiss to his cheek.

Being next to you like this gives a warm and fuzzy feeling in my tummy and my chest.

I sorta...

Like it.

Is it just her imagination? Or did Louis just blushed while his lips pursed as he turned to face Yang?

Is he... avoiding her?

...

_Probably just her imagination_. She thought as she let darkness overtake her once more, nuzzling onto his sides.

_Yang's POV_

_..._

_..._

_Wait just a damn minute!_

_Ruby... hadn't confessed?_

...

_SO THEN THAT FUCK IS DOING ONE NIGHT STANDS WITH MY INNOCENT LITTLE RUBY?!_ Yang thought as she perked up in bed.

The first thing she did was clenched her palm into a fist, ready do beat his face in when then realized something.

He's naked.

She's naked.

Blake's naked and on top of him.

Ruby's naked and is beside him.

Weiss is naked and under him.

He's naked and facing her.

We're all naked.

...

...

And his dong his barely touching Blake's rear.

...

...

Did she mention that they were naked?

"WHAAAAT IN THE FUCK, IS GOING ON?!" Yang shouted out loud as her cheeks lit ablaze. However, that wasn't the only thing that burnt up, as her hair started to glow, and her eyes flashed crimson.

She could hear a small whimper come out of Louis's lips as his eyes scrunched shut.

BASTARD'S AWAKE!

"Sis...?" Ruby yawned sleepily as one eye popped open, rubbing her other eye with the back of her hand.

"Dreams... A little longer..." Blake yawned, and wrapped her arms tighter around Louis's shoulders.

"Wha..." Weiss yawned, stretching as she got up. "Yang, why are you so riled up in the-"

_SLAM_

_CRACK_

_SNAP_

_THUD_

_Hiss..._

_A few minutes later..._

_Louis's POV_

"Yeah... I'm gonna need a new bed." I sighed as I saw the broken mess of splinters, wooden planks, and cotton spread across the middle of the room like a popped water balloon.

"So... it wasn't a dream?" Blake asked, now fully clothed with her default combat clothes, fully conscious with the rest of team RWBY.

"Nope..." Ruby answered as she twidled with her thumbs and pulled her hood over her head.

"How is it my fault?!" Yang huffed, crossing her arms and looking at the other direction.

"..." Weiss just stood there and stared at the wooden floorboards, cheeks ablaze as her eyes couldn't meet any of her teammates, or anybody else for that matter.

"You were the one who slammed into my bed, fists blazing." I deadpanned. "How is it not?"

"We woke up naked! In your bed no less!" Yang yelled.

"And... now the whole school knows." I deadpanned further, causing all the girls to yelp and recoil as their cheeks all burnt a dark shade of red. "Good job Yang."

"Why you..." She grit her teeth as she pinned me to the wall by the collar, and reeled a fist back with crimson eyes.

"Yang, put him down." Ruby murmured.

"We woke up NAKED. In HIS bed!"

"Keep going!" I yelled back. "I'm sure word will make it to Ozpin, and he'll be PLEASED to find out."

Yang staggered back from my outburst, effectively giving me some breathing space as the other members of the team stared at me from my unnatural reaction.

...

"Look." I sighed as I rubbed my throat. "In all honesty I had nothing to do with that." I lifted both my hands calmly, shaking my head.

"You probably spiked our drinks at the cafeteria while we weren't looking!" Yang suggested, as Weiss put down her finger and clamped her mouth, suggesting the heiress was about to accuse me of the same thing.

"Really?" I deadpanned even further. "In the public eye? And when was the last time you saw me consume, let alone, bring alchohol to campus grounds?"

"Maybe... maybe..."

"Yang, you know me." I said as I looked into her eyes, brown meeting lilac. "Happy accidents aren't my thing."

"Grh..." She spat, crossing her arms once more. "Well how do you explain it then?!"

Evans

You're owing me a huge favour asshat!

"Honestly, I don't know." I shrugged off a lie. "I didn't really go to sleep by choice last night."

"You... Passed out?" Blake asked with a raised brow.

"Is this one of your powers of being an alien?" Ruby asked, propping her head with both arms in awe.

"Like Evans told you." I said quickly before Yang could glare at me and accuse me again. "We're exactly like you guys, without aura and just extra knowledge on the show. So... To answer your question, no Ruby."

"Oh... Well, back to square one." The young leader said, putting a finger to her chin in deep thought.

"Did you make sure our rooms are locked?" Blake asked.

"Yeah." But Evans could hack the rooms anyway. That's how he managed to seal Edgy D's fate after all...

"Let's just... Keep this to ourselves, alright?" I sighed. "What happens in this room stays in this room."

"That sounds... Suspicious." Yang glared.

"Really?" I deadpanned. "Are we seriously doing this again?"

"Let's just go shall we? We have a doubles to catch up to." I pointed out. "I believe team JNPR is up first."

"Oh right!" Ruby burst into rose petals and went out in the first few seconds, somehow trusting Yang not kill me.

She gives Yang way too much credit...

"Well?" I turned to ask the 3 remaining members, currently still too flustered to move. "Are you guys just gonna stand there?"

...

"You better not pull anything funny at the match!" Weiss scowled, cheeks on fire as she stomped her heels, storming out of the room.

"Not a dream..." Blake giggled to herself with a goofy smile as she clinged onto her book across her chest. "Not a dream..."

"Yang?" I raised my brow.

"Louis." Yang sighed. "We need to talk..."

"It's about Ruby... isn't it?" I asked with a sigh.

"Y-yeah..." She grinded her teeth as she her her emotions take over, knuckles running white as it gripped onto the wooden frame of her bed and hair glowing gold as it started to float in the air, as if there was some turbulence in the room.

Well, it was gonna come sooner or later.

"Do you-"

"Sure." I shrugged, effectively cutting her off and getting her lilac orbs to meet my brown ones. "But after the Vytal Festival is over."

"Promise you won't run away?" Yang growled as she got up and went up to my side.

"I am many things Yang." I admitted, strapping Obisidian Nova from my backpack to my belt as I prepped up for the match. "But a runner isn't one of them."

"Good." She said as her hair trailed down and fizzled loose while she steadied her breathing, grasping my shoulders with an iron grip as she did so. "Because if you do, I'm gonna find you..."

"And you're gonna kill me." I finished. Never thought she would be such a Liam Neeson fan. "I gotcha firecracker."

"As long as we're clear."

"Crystal."

"And don't call me that! Only my uncle calls me that!"

...

"Blondie?"

"No."

"Goldilocks?"

"Did you mean golden locks? Also no."

Thanks Google.

"Sunny little dragon?"

Yang deadpanned. "Only if I get to call you daddy. And judging by the way you look at Blake when she calls you that, and the way you're looking at me right now, you don't like that one either so... No nicknames. Seriously, what's wrong with being called a father figure anyways?"

If only you'd know...

"Why not?" I raised my brow, ignoring her question. "You call Blake Kitty Kat, Ruby Rubes and Weiss Ice Queen."

And so we strolled down to catch up with the rest of the team, with me trying to make up new nicknames for Yang.

_Later..._

"Hope you're happy." I deadpanned.

"Hey, I did you a favour." Evans shrugged a reply as he stared at the ceiling, craning his neck at an angle with both hands behind his neck, strolling down the hallways together as we chatted about.

After this morning's 'happy accident', I decided it was best to leave my team be while I roamed around the empty school. To avoid possible awkwardness before the match, and to give them time to wave it off, though I believe that would take more then a day to forget...

To reassure them that I have no ill feelings or conflicting emotions get in the way, I told Yang to relay a message to the team that I'd meet them before lunch and that I'd promise to be on time for the doubles which was a few rounds after lunch.

"Damnit man... are you gonna keep setting me up from now on?"

"Depends... do you wanna settle down with one of them? Or maybe all of them?" He smirked. "When you think you've decided, then tell me."

"Fuck..." I muttered a curse under my breath as I threw him a dirty glare. "You knew it's just as dangerous for them as it is for me... right?"

"What do you mean?" He raised a brow.

"Did you completely forgot what my sembelance was?" I deadpanned as I burried my face in my hands.

"Oh..." He rubbed his chin in deep thought. "Huh... didn't think that far."

"Man, the only reason I'm not kicking your ass now is because you have a match after lunch today, you lucky son of a bitch."

A horrifying thought then crossed my mind, causing goosebumps to travel down my spine as I froze in my tracks.

"You didn't make them pop my cherry, did you?" I glared at him angrily, trying to hide the revolting feeling traveling up my throat.

"Dude, remember that I feel and experience everything from the person that I posses, after I return. I do NOT need to know how docking feels like, thank you very much." Evans grimmaced in disgust.

"Thank god... forget it." I sighed in relief as I rubbed my chest with one arm. "You ready for your match?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." He shrugged once more, his head tilting backwards as he propped up against his arms once more.

"Remember, Ironwood still doesn't know you're a Star Dust user. Don't risk it. No matter how dire." I reminded him.

"If all goes well, I won't have to." He smirked.

"Evans..."

"Okay okay, I won't. Sheesh, relax." He held out both hands in defeat, and then stopped in his tracks.

"Evans?" I called out as I looked behind me, his face in complete shock. "What is it?"

Without answering, he just opened the door to an empty classroom.

What's up with him?

"Hey, what are you-"

My eyes widened.

The classroom wasn't so empty after all.

In the corner of the room, currently staring out the window, sat a short and stubby man, somewhat of a similar figure as Professor Port, but somewhat of a hunched stature, without the mustache and still more youthful in terms of age. His jagged hair is gelled up slightly to the side, while black square specs rested on his nose. He wore a white collared shirt with dotted tesselations that spread evenly throughout, and short, knee length navy blue jeans and converse shoes.

"Clumsy D?" Evans asked.

"Hm?" He switched his gaze from the window, and towards our direction. "Oh, hey guys! Haven't seen you all in a while, whatcha been up to?"

"Dwiki?" I asked."What are you doing here?"

**(A/N Pronounced Dwheekey, not Dwaikai. Don't judge us, his parents actually named him that.)**

"Oh, just sitting at the corner of the classroom, trying to look out the window."

"We... can see that..." I deadpanned while Evans shook his head, muttering something about how Clumsy D will never change. "What are you doing in an empty classroom all by yourself?"

"Well... I'm waiting for class to start. With this position, people will know I'm the main character, and I'll get my harem." He said, looking outside to enjoy the view once more.

...

...

...

"Nobody's coming Clumsy D." I stated, and looked to Evans to see a blank expression spread throughout his face.

"What?" Dwiki asked as his head spun around. "They're probably a bit late that's all. Probably a cute girl with some bread in her mouth yelling out "I'm late, I'm late!". Oh the excitement! I can't wait."

...

...

"You wanna tell him or should I?" I facepalmed as a small chortle crept onto my lips as I faced towards Evans.

"You could." Evans chuckled, putting both hands to his mouth as he tried to avoid roaring with laughter.

"D!" My voice echoed throughout the empty classroom as it reached Dwiki's ears, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"We're in RWBY. Nobody's coming cuz the Vytal tournament is going on. Everybody's at the Amity Colloseum right now.'

...

...

"I MISSED OUT TWO SEASONS?! TWO SEASONS WHERE I COULD BE THE HAREM PROTAGONIST? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...

"You done?" I deadpanned as I dug into my ears.

"Huff... Huff.. give me one sec." He held a finger out as he inhaled a deep breath. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

...

"Okay, now I'm good." He admitted, brushing off his clothes as he got up.

"You aren't getting your harem." Evans and me deadpanned in sync.

"N-"

"I thought you said you were done." I cut off, before our ears could get assaulted again.

"What do you mean I'm not getting my harem? We're in an anime, are we not?" He put a hand to his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought as his head tilted down. If this was an anime, a small star might have appeared not too far away from his face for further emphasis.

"Yes, but you do know what RWBY is about right? It's not your typical romance slice of lif-"

"Yeah yeah, 4 badass girls kicking monster's asses. Wherever girls lurk, I get a chance to have a harem."

Great...

He's not listening.

"Ugh, just, get down from there will you?" I asked. "Before you make a fool of yourself to the public eye."

"A bit too late for that." Evans pointed out with a laugh. "Just be lucky it's just us in this room. Otherwise your first impression might not even be enough to get you by the friendzone bar."

"Like that's ever stopped him on Earth." I snickered.

"Oh shut up." He pouted as he started to go down the steps.

"Let's just get out of here before we're late." I said.

_Vrrrr_

Evans checked his scroll.

"Guess what?"

"You're late." I replied.

"I'm la- Damnit!" He smacked his knee. "Beat me to it!"

"Oh so very fashionably late too." I rolled my eyes as Dwiki reached us. "Lets go."

_Later..._

"By a step!" Professor Port commented as Evans jumped backwards to avoid a devastating hit from an Atlesian student with red, buzz cut hair and in a gray and white uniform, wielding twin waraxes with a cyberpunk touch to it,, who jabbed into the ground, sending shrapnel spewing upwards.

"I must say, Mr Evans's agility seems to rival his opponent's strength." Oobleck chimed in. "Wearing his opponent down while he delivers small punches, chipping away at their aura, as well as giving some time for Mr Winchester to strike the other one out!"

"What?!" The Atlesian boy shouted as he looked up at the screen, seeing his partner spiral out of the arena as his aura dropped below 15% from a devastating upwards blow delivered by Cardin Winchester, delivering the perfect home run.

"Tough luck." Evans said. His opponent looked back right on time, and ducked as a knuckle flew over his head.

"Tch..." The Atlesian student spat as he retreated with a few quick jumps back, keeping his distance from the melee fighters to try and gain some advantage.

_Cinder's POV_

"Could you do it from this distance?" Cinder asked with a raised brow as the crowd cheered from the sounds of metals clashing.

"Yes ma'am." Emerald said as the crowd erupted in cheers. "Who should I target?"

"How about... our little Seer?" Cinder answered after a moment of thought, putting a finger up to her cheek.

"Gladly." A vicious smirk made it's way to Emerald's face as her eyes widen, pupils dilating as she concentrated on her target before her.

_Evans's POV_

He's powerful...

I need to-

"Behind you!" Cardin yelled.

BOOM

The opponent slammed both of his axes into the ground so hard it shattered the ground beneath me.

Whew... That was too close!

My eyes then widened as a glint of silver caught the corner of my eye as the opponent dug something under his sleeves as I was still up in the air.

"You're not getting away that easily!" He shouted as he threw a dozen kunais at my direction, spraying out in a wide area around me.

Shit! I can't dodge!

With the amount he's sending flying in my direction, that's gonna leave some scars.

My Aura is too low... I can't take it!

"Remember not to use Star Dust." Louis's voice echoed in my head as the glow on my rings died down. "No matter how dire."

As I crossed my arms on my face, I scrunched my eyes shut, and braced for cuts and bruises that will pierce my sides.

...

But... It never came.

"Evans!" Cardin shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts as the image of the boy started to blur, and eventually, hissed as it dissapated. A clear view of Cardin struggling with the boy then came into perfect clarity as they stood in a standstill, mace locked onto two waraxes as the opponent bent on his knees, causing me to shake my head and rub my eyes as I did a double take.

_So..._ I thought as I looked up._ They decided to make a move early..._

Louis's POV

"What's... Going on?" Ruby asked, raising a brow.

"He... Defended against... Nothing?" Weiss asked with the same confusion.

"Why would he cross his arms as if expecting an assault in the frontal area? I thought he was going to use Raging Storm... But that wasn't the case. So why?" Yang faced me. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." I bit my finger as I glanced to the main monitor, seeing his face as he looked up to glare at Emerald.

Close call Evans... Close call...

_Cinder's POV_

"What's happening?" Cinder asked. "Shouldn't he be fatally injuring his opponent?"

"He... Decided to go on the defensive, ma'am." Emerald said, just as shocked as Cinder is.

Being a Seer, it was completely possible he had seen through that.

"Well?" Cinder raised a brow.

"Well?"

"Do it again!" Cinder threw her arms up, and then settled on putting her palm on Emerald's shoulder.

"Uh- Yes ma'am!" Emerald yelped as she broke from Cinder's smouldering gaze, feeling the heat on her shoulders start to intensify.

_You will fall... Seers._ Cinder thought as she got up and walked over to the exit. _Where's Mercury when you need him?_

_Evans's POV_

"Raaaagh!" The opponent yelled as he got pushed back several feet by a blow to his side's from Cardin's mace.

"That's it!" He said as his weapons mecha shifted into Uzi's, and aimed both at Evans and Cardin.

Another spray of bullets? This is getting old.

I threw both his knuckle dusters into the air, catching them in their revolver form as they went down, and aimed it on his opponent.

The opponent then aimed both his sub machine gun towards me, and then the bullets started to spray... But not in the sense they should.

Instead of firing in a straight line, his spread out in buckshots, distorting and filling up my peripheral like a sea of metal.

"Again... Huh?" I grumbled as I braced for the impact again, crossing my arms as my heart raced, only to feel my aura pinging on my left thigh. Without a second thought, I lunged at the opponent with both bare fists raised above my head to deliver the final blow, causing the illusion to completely dissapate as I saw Cardin put the Atlesian student in a chokehold with his mace, with me rapidly approaching point blank range.

_WHAM_

"And... thats the match!" Port announced aloud as the alarms blared, signalling that one party had run out of aura. "And team CRDL is victorious!"

_Louis's POV_

"Again?" Blake asked.

"I'm sure it's just a slip up." Yang shrugged off. "Reflexes perhaps? He isn't used to combat with an opponent this tough after all."

"What do you think though?" She asked in my direction.

"I think he did well." I answered with a shrug. "He won."

"But-" Weiss was cut off as her eyes darted to the center of the stage. "Wait, what is he doing?"

I followed her gaze to see Evans, not getting off the stage, as Cardin beckoned to follow.

"EMERALD SUSTRAI!" Evans yelled aloud, catching the attention of the whole arena as the voice echoed through the transmissions, emiting his voice throughout the whole coloseum and everybody watching at home. He then pointed in the direction where the green haired girl sat, causing her to gulp.

"What is he doing?" Ruby echoed after Weiss, completely dumbfounded.

_What is he doing indeed..._ I held up a hand to my chin in deep thought.

_Cinder's POV_

"No..." Cinder muttered from the other side of the stage as she made an appearence from a dark hallway, overlooking the whole drama unfolding before her very eyes.

_He can't be serious... can he?_

"What should we do?!" Mercury asked in a rush, causing her to glance over to see a panicked look on the boy for once as he stood beside her, grinding his teeth.

It would've been hysterical, if it wasn't for the fact that a damn Seer was about to expose their plans in front of so many people!

Was this their plan all along? To wait for the Vytal Tournament to publically expose them?! All their planning, all their careful patience to not burn or kill any of the annoying students here that played goody goody with them... will it all be for naught?!

It was a damn good one. If they claim to know the knowledge from being from another world, they're gonna get locked up at an asylum. If they claim to have known it from being in this one, they're gonna go to jail along with them. Either way, they're gonna end up in a prison cell if he manages to make the announcement, thus, preventing them to make Beacon fall.

_If I'm gonna fall, I'm taking you down with me_ huh...

She's underestimated them.

...

...

No...

She wasn't about to let that happen.

"Mercury... if I let down the shields, would you be able to kill him on time?"

"What?" Mercury's eyes widened. "With this distance? I'll miss!"

"Tch..." Cinder grinded her teeth as her palms started to heat up.

Looks like they've ran out of options.

"Mercury, if I get captured, or worse, killed, retreat to the hideout and make sure to come back here, and ensure that Emerald gets the maiden's powers."

"Cinder, what are you-"

"Failiure is NOT an option!" Cinder's palms glowed maliciously red as the wall that she touched started to warp and deform. "On three, I want you to take Emerald and flee the stadium."

"But-"

"Three..."

_Evans's POV_

I raised a finger towards her direction with a smirk, prompting the Haven proclaimed student to get up as the attention of the crowds honed in on her.

A rouse of whispers started to resound from the stage.

"What is going on?" One asked.

"Get off the stage! We want to see the next match!" Another echoed.

"Mr Evans, uhh, if you would be so kind." Professor Port asked nicely over the PA.

I saw black figures danced around the corner of my eyes, but I didn't falter as I heard snarls get closer.

She's panicking so hard, she didn't care to think that Grimm being in the Amity Coloseum doesn't make sense.

Heh... Illusions won't save you this time girl.

I took a deep breath and yelled out.

"I-"

_Cinder's POV_

"Two..."

Mercury bent down in a marathon runner's stance, getting ready to bolt.

_Evans's POV_

"LOVE YOU!"

_Shift_

...

...

...

...

Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald, who was standing dumbfounded on the other side of the spectator seats: "Eh?"

Team RWBY and Louis, along with Dwiki, who was watching via TV: "Ehh?"

The whole Amity Colloseum, and everybody watching at home. "**EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH?!**"

**A/N**

**Well... that wasn't what I expected, but okay! Slowly but surely advancing towards the doubles rounds. I've been asked over PM if I have a ship set in stone yet, and honestly, I don't. So... maybe leave a review of who do you think you ship me(Louis) with? And why? **

**Maybe I'll make it into an Omake chapter... maybe...**

**And for those of you asking if I'm gonna get together with Evans... The fuck is wrong with you people?**

**If you would like to keep up to date with this fic, be sure to Fav, Follow and leave a review as to what you think about it, or what you think is gonna happen next! I'd love to hear theories and such, and I love to read your reviews. It's what keeps this fic going after all!**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N**

**Okay, so this chapter and the next was supposed to actually be one, but if I do decide to make it all one chapter, it'll be painstakingly cramped, and thus, I had to (Unfortunately) s****plit it into two. Also, finally made cover art for this fic! It's simple, probably not as great as most cover arts out there, but it gets the job done to replace that blank profile****. May be updated in the future.**

"Oh. My. Gosh! That was so romantic." Nora cheered as she slammed her palm to Evans's back, almost sending him faceplanting to the floor as he staggered forwards, waving his arms like an exasperated penguin. "Announcing your feelings towards your crushes in front of the world, what a way to confess!"

"I know, right!" Yang snickered with both hands forming a link on the back of her neck as both teams walked around to explore the arena for the short break they'd been given.

"Y-yeah..." Evans agreed hesitantly as he looked into my eyes.

"I think we should go visit them and see what their reaction to his 'confession' is first." Weiss scolded. "It would be rude to assume she's gonna return his feelings out of a whim like that."

"Don't be such a buzzkill Ice Queen," Yang rolled her eyes. "With a confession that public, I don't think she has the guts to decline."

And it doesn't get any more public then that...

It's all over the news, and Cinder hasn't had the chance to take down the CCT tower yet, which means...

It's global. The whole Remnant knows.

"Let's hope not." Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms.

"You should be thankful that Jaune already has Phyrra." I pointed out, trying to direct the crowd's attention away from Evans's, attempting to give him some form of breathing space. "Otherwise he'd probably try to mimic the way Evans confessed." I pointed out as I held out my hand dramatically. "Headlines would read 'Heiress of the SDC, heart made of Ice, shatter's her crush's heart'. "

"No," Jaune gave a nervous chuckle as Phyrra tightened her grip on Jaune's arm, a noticeable wince taking place on her face. "I don't think I'd have the guts to do that."

"I'd beg to differ." Weiss somehow agreeing with me, shook her head and let out a puff of air in relief, causing Jaune to scratch the back of his head with his free arm, and then settled on a small smile. "But I am happy for the two of you. You're definitely better off with Phyrra then you are with me."

"Did the Ice Queen just admit her imperfections?" I teased, getting her to roll her eyes.

"What can I say?" Yang shrugged. "Opposites attract." Yang joked, and we all couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"For once, I'll let that one slide." I chuckled. "I'm gonna go grab a snack, who's gonna join me?"

"I'm in!" Ruby jumped with a grin without a second thought.

"We shouldn't be eating before a match." Weiss scolded.

"Relax Ice Queen." I rolled my eyes. "It's a snack, not a bowl of ramen."

"I could use some fill to sustain me till sundown." Yang said, drawing a circle with her hand over her stomach with her hand.

"I heard some of them sell some really good fried squid." Blake said with a neutral face, though being in the same team as she is, she isn't suggesting for us to help ourselves. Knowing her, that calamari isn't gonna last long in our hands.

"Oh fine..." Weiss rolled her eyes as her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I guess I could entertain the idea of having a small meal as a pre celebration to our victory."

"I thought you didn't trust me enough to win." I deadpanned.

"Who said I'll be relying on you to begin with?" Weiss crossed her arms while facing away with a smug smirk at her small victory.

"Ooooooooo..." Everybody drawled on, some even putting their hands to their mouths as they stared at me, awaiting a recoil or some form of reaction.

"Clearly you aren't thinking straight. Did you accidentally give yourself a brain freeze again Ice Queen?" I chuckled back, getting her to frown, and some to chortle.

"Why you..." Weiss clenched her fists as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"You guys going?" Evans asked team JNPR casually behind me, as Weiss tried to stare me down.

"Unfortunately we just had lunch." Phyrra declined politely. "I think we could manage till after the matches."

"We're good." Jaune agreed with an apologetic look.

"We will be there for dinner though!" Nora said while pointing at nobody in particular with a bubbly grin, as if afraid to have offended us in any way.

"Sure." I smiled, ignoring the furious glare the heiress is giving me. "The more the merrier."

"Suit yourself." Evans shrugged, as we strolled towards the exits together.

...

...

...

"Alright, whatcha wanna get first?" I asked the group, though directing it more towards Evans.

"I think I might get that giant fried squid Blake was talking about." Yang said as she rubbed her palms together.

"Remember to keep your eyes on it though." I teased. "Kitty's got claws."

"I won't steal it..." Blake mumbled under her breath. "Maybe..." She muttered afterwards.

"Hotdogs I guess." Evans replied.

"What?" He asked as we all turned to face him. "I just finished my bout. I can eat whatever I want."

"Oooo... I see where this is going." Yang smirked.

"Yang, don't you even try." I warned her as a perverted look took over her features.

"What? I'm sure that hotdog's for Emerald. Let's just hope his sausage fits in Emerald's buns."

For gods sake...

"Why would they split the parts?" Ruby asked innocently, as she glanced at the other's giving awkward coughs as our cheeks flushed.

"No foodplay." Evans said as he facepalmed. "Please."

"I think I might just skip on eating altogether." Weiss decided. "I just lost my appetite."

"You guys are no fun!" Yang stuck out her tounge.

"That could wait till after we've eaten." I glared.

"We're in a fair full of good, delicious food. I'd thought you'd find something better to do then your jokes. Guess I was wrong." I deadpanned. " I think I'll get-"

"Hey guys! Oh- I mean... hey... guys..." Clumsy D came to greet us as he gelled his hair upwards and slowed his sprint down to a waltz the moment he spotted Team RWBY.

Well... fuck.

He then put both of his hands in his pockets and slung a square briefcase over his shoulder (Which he probably got in a convention somewhere) as he tried to look ignore the presence of the 4 girls.

_The typical stereotypical 'Harem Protagonist' character huh..._ I deadpanned internally, and looked over to Evans to see the same expression on his face, indicating that he thought the same.

"Do you... know him?" Weiss asked, raising a brow in question.

"Unfortunately... yes." I replied with a sigh as I put both palms up to my face. "This is..." I held out one hand hesitantly as I tried to introduce him.

"Brian." The short, pudgy man scoffed as he looked at the ground.

...

...

Both me and Evans raised a brow, with Team RWBY following not soon after, exchanging glances between him and the aghast looks on our faces.

"Oh hell no, you're not modifying your name just so that you sound cooler!" Evans stated as he put him into a chokehold, effectively wrestling him to the ground.

"Uhh..." Yang questioned as she raised her brow higher.

"This is... Dwiki. If his name is too _alien_ to pronounce, just call him Clumsy D." I made sure to emphasize that last point with a wink, though looking at everybody's attention towards the two, nobody caught it.

"Anyway... great way to introduce yourself D." I deadpanned at him.

"Just... let me be... the harem MC!" Dwiki rebelled as his face started to turn blue.

"What is he talking about?" Yang asked.

"Ugh... you don't wanna know." I hid my face in between both my palms to try to hide the fact that we even know this fuck.

"I don't know why..." Ruby said as she timidly hid behind me, grabbing my arm. "But I think I feel safer beside Louis right now."

I looked over to the poor girl in question to see her hair standing like a petrified cat, and speaking of cats...

"Me... too..." Blake said as she walked over to Ruby's side, grabbing my other arm, causing me to sigh.

"So do we." Yang and Weiss said in sync as they both hid behind me, making me the human shield against him.

"So is he from..." Weiss whispered, but knew well enough not to finish it as she pointed at the two bodies wrestling for control.

Right...

I looked around at the crowded fair and didn't recognize any familiar faces that could question, or worse, interrogate us. Besides, it's too noisy and crowded even for Ironwood's advanced tech.

I looked to Evans, who shrugged in return as he struggled to keep Clumsy D in place.

Nothing happened with Adrian, so... it should be safe... right?

"Yeah." I replied with a nod.

"You... mean... Earth?" Dwiki gasped for air as he clawed at his throat, which had a forearm around it. "They... know?!"

"Yeah well... I didn't really wanna say it out loud in public D." I deadpanned.

"Evans... let... go!" Dwiki yelled as he slammed to the ground, squirming for air as a crowd started to gather.

"Is this normal for you people?" Weiss asked with a raised brow.

"For us people? Nope. For us?" I chuckled as I looked over to the two struggling men. "Yeah."

"Lets go grab some food shall we? The match starts in 10." I nonchalantly.

"Oh right!" Ruby burst into rose petals as she zipped towards a nearby crepe stand to order about half a dozen.

I shook my head as I started to walk away.

"What about him?" Weiss whispered in my ear, directing it to the unconscious boy sprawled in an unflattering angle as people around tried their best to ignore him, as Evans jogged up to us.

"What about him?" I replied with a smirk.

_Meanwhile..._

_In another RWBYverse..._

The dim moonlight shone through the shattered windows of the run down apartment. Tattered wallpapers decorated all 4 sides, most showing their internal, soggy plywood filled with moss, along with small, spider web like cracks that painted the dull, concrete walls in random polka dotted patterns. The midnight breeze blew through shattered windows as it creaked in agony from the rusted hinges that supported it.

_SLAM_

Out of nowhere, the walls imploded from the side, and 2 figures went tumbling out of it, bursting through bricks and stones as masonry and debris now decorated the wooden floorboards, dust flying up and spreading throughout the room, sending the musky atmosphere back into the night air from it's years of dormancy carpeting the floors.

The first figure got up, Her silver eyes shone as the moonlight hit her face, brown leather jacket, which was rolled up to her elbow, flapping in the wind against her petite, yet curvy body is clearly defined on the tight spandex she wore around her legs.

"I don't know what clouded your judgement worse." She accused as she held a scarlet colored handgun and pointed it towards the second figure with one hand, brushing off the dust and debris off her body armor, which has a red rose insignia emblazoned on the center of the chest, with the other. "Your guilt or your antiquated sense or morality."

The second figure then stood up, easily towering over the first as his black cape touched the floor as he glared at the first figure, eyes squinting as to watch any sudden movements made by the unpredictable woman before him. "Ruby I-"

"Jaune I forgive you... for not saving me." The woman said as silver eyes stared intently at his blue orbs.

"But why...? Why on gods Remnant... " She delivered a powerful kick with her feet towards the closed wooden closet door nearby, bursting it into nothing but splinters from the years of decay, to reveal a tied up scorpion looking faunus, who immediately shot back with a vicious looking smile across his face after he saw who it was that let the lights into the room.

"...is HE still alive?!" She screamed as she gestured to the captive.

The scorpion then just laughed maniacally in return.

"HuhuhAhaHAHAHAHA! Gotta give the girl points." He said as he dragged the chair across the wooden floorboards with a cringing screech as he reached in between the two, and settled on looking at the man with a cape. "She came all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen."

"So.. whose got a camera? Oh oh, get one of me and the kid first, then you and me, then the three of us, and then one with the crowbar, and then- ARGH!" He didn't get to finish as she smacked him across the head with the butt of her gun, getting him to slam onto the floor face first, vertically facing the caped crusader.

"You be as quiet as possible, or I'll put one in your lap first." She said as he felt the barrel digging onto the side of his head.

"Party pooper, no cake for you." The faunus scoffed.

"Ignoring what he's done in the past," She continued, as her aim went back to Jaune. "blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered, the amount of friends he's crippled!"

"You know I'd thought..." Ruby grit her teeth as tears stung the edge of her eyes. "I'd thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt."

"If it had been you who he'd beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world I would have done _nothing_ but search the planet, for this evil pile of death worshiping garbage... and send em off to the Grimmlands!"

"You don't understand... I don't think you've ever understood." Jaune finally spoke, blue eyes never leaving Ruby's silver ones for a second.

"What? What, your moral code just won't allow for that? It's too hard to cross that line?" Ruby asked as she held her hands out, as if addressing an audience.

"No! God Almighty, no! It'd be too damned easy. All I've ever wanted to do is kill him." Jaune replied, eyes glaring down towards the scorpion faunus for a change. "A day doesn't go by when I don't think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he's dealt out to others and then... end him."

"Awwww! So you do think about me." The faunus mused.

"But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place, I'll never come back."

"Why? I'm not talking about killing Torchwick or Arthur or Hazel. I'm talking about him. Just him. And do it because..." She gripped at her chest as she pointed down at the man in question with the barrel of her handgun. "Because he took me away from you."

"I can't." Jaune heaved a heavy sigh as he looked down. "I'm sorry."

"That is so sweet." The faunus taunted.

...

"Well, you won't have any choice." Ruby said after a moment of pausing, breaking the chair the faunus is in and holding him up to her level, wrapping a forearm around his throat as she tossed a spare gun from the utility belt, landing on both of Jaune's hands as he held them out.

"I won't-" Jaune tried.

"This is what it's all been about. This! You, me, him!" She yelled in frustration, tears rolling down the side of her cheeks. "Now is the time you decide! If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will! If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me!"

"You know I won't-"

"I'm going to blow his deranged brains out! And if you want to stop it, you are going to have to shoot me, right in my face!"

"This is turning out even better than I'd hoped." The faunus said with genuine surprise as a vicious smirk tore through the neutral façade he had just seconds ago.

Jaune then looked in disbelief, and with both hands, he let go of the gun, letting it fall to the wooden floorboards with a loud clatter, and turned around, walking away.

"It's him, or me! You have to decide!" Ruby shouted as she further dug the barrel further on the thin skin between the barrel and the Faunus's skull. "Decide, now! DO IT! HIM, OR ME! DECIDE!"

Jaune suddenly stopped in his tracks, and just as Ruby pointed the gun back to Jaune's direction and pulled the trigger, Jaune was reduced to nothing but a pile of dust.

"What the-?!" Ruby shouted as she pushed the faunus to the ground, causing him to faceplant and break the fragile floorboards with a deafening slam, and bolted to Jaune's last known position, and turned her neck to both the left and the right. "Enough tricks Jaune!"

Only then did she remember that the faunus was untied, and turned around to... no one.

"Tyrian!" She shouted aloud, in full alert, as if waiting Tyrian to jump out of the walls.

"Damnit..." She cursed after a short pause of searching around. "he... escaped?"

_No..._ she thought as she rushed to the balcony one more time for a double take. _There's no exits here but the way Jaune came from, I made sure the front doors are locked before I locked him up in here._

A loud boom then resounded from the streets, followed by several others as car alarms started to blare, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What's... going on?" She asked herself.

_Back in the main RWBYverse..._

_Louis's POV_

"Alright, our turn." I said as I glanced over to Obsidian Nova, making sure 'Overdrive' was locked. Not that I was planning to use it, but... Just as a precaution.

"Ugh, just be sure to keep proper form." Weiss scolded and then blushed furiously "And don't try anything funny!"

"Sure thing Ice Queen." I said, putting something in my ears as she turned with an unamused glare. "So, what can we expect? You're from Atlas after all."

"Well, seeing as their kingdom, academy and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategy-"

She was cut off as something swooshed behind her, causing her to perk up in alert.

"Or..." She faltered. "Whatever they are." She pointed at a man with a fedora with a trumpet, and a rainbow coloured faunus, who spun her nunchucks around with ease.

"Hey." The man with a trumpet greeted with a smile as he rolled his eyes, grabbing Weiss's attention almost immediately. "You're Weiss Schnee right? The heiress."

"I am."

"Don't get too friendly Weiss." I reminded her.

She gave me a confused glare as if to ask 'what do you mean?'

"I take it you're pretty good with us then." Flynt said.

"I do my best."

"Until your dad got ratted out of business by the SDC." I finished, getting a flabbergasted, yet ultimately frustrated look from Weiss that said the only thing that is stopping her from slapping me right now, was that the world was watching her right now.

"Have... We met?" Flynt asked hesitantly, getting Weiss's mouth to open.

"No." I replied, tapping my scroll. "But you're about to."

The heiress suddenly looked down, prompting me to give her some comfort.

"Don't feel too bad Weiss." I said as I extended both blades to either sides by flicking both hilts. "Don't let your family name define who you are. What your dad did... has nothing to do with you."

The heiress then turned to me with a puzzled look across her face, and I turned around to see Neon cat attempting to mimic me, only for her jaw to drop as I continued talking despite her ramblings.

"Oh, her?" I jabbed my thumb at the cat, getting a nod in return. "Meh, all bark and no bite. I just hope she hits harder then she talks."

The heiress's mouth fell open, and I smirked as I saw a frown starting to form on Neon's face, cracking her nun chucks and making it glow furiously cyan, while Flynn opened his mouth to say something to defend his partner with a cross expression.

Heh... thank you Evans.

Ignoring them, my gaze went towards the monitor, where I saw the timer counting down.

"3"

Alright...

"2"

"1"

Let's do this.

Flynt took a deep breath.

"Begin!"

The blaring of the start of the match was barely audible as Flynn blew into the mouthpiece, blowing the us out of the way almost immediately, causing her to conjure a white glyph underneath her to stand her ground.

Neon took her that chance to ride within the confines of the cone like waves that was boosting her speed, thrusting her forward as she skyrocketed towards us.

Like hell am I gonna get knocked around like Yang did.

With a smirk, I quickly moved into a crouch and despite all the resistance Flynt is outputting, managed to pull off a low sweep, throwing Neon Cat off her feet as she stumbled away.

First blood has been drawn.

"I'll leave jazz hands to you." I said once Flynt ran out of breath, eyes wide in surprise as Neon stumbled onto the ruins, one of the two terrains that were pulled up in the randomizer.

I didn't wait for an answer as I leapt into the fray, swinging both blades overhead as I tried to impale Neon, only for her skates to meet my blades, before planting both hands on the hard floor, propping herself up.

"Looks like you missed your beat." I taunted.

'How did you...' She mouthed.

"Don't worry, you won't miss my beating anytime soon!" I closed in on the space between us for an upward slash, only for her to bolt into rainbows, finding a ramp to enhance her speed further to try and grind on the railing from the ruins, effectively cutting the space between us to try and come up with a strategy.

With a heavy swing, the pressurized air took for of a crimson heatwave, and met with the pipes and metal railings with a loud clang.

She tried to pick up speed to avoid it, only for her to wave her hands out frantically as she lost her balance on the railings, causing her to stumble and fall, a loud thud taking place as she faceplanted towards the hard surface.

If Professor Port said something about it, I didn't stand by to hear it as I threw a few more air slashes with Obsidian Nova, that caused bits and pieces of bricks and concrete to fall on top of her, causing her aura to drop below a quarter almost immediately as dust and debris puffed up into a billow of smoke, encasing a quarter of the stadium in an instant.

In contrast to the dull surroundings, a glint of light shone through the desaturated puff of smoke, the vibrant prism of colors made it clear that the cat faunus might be down but not out.

"Back for more?" I asked, only for her to change direction last minute, causing my eyes to track where she was going before it widened.

Weiss was reaching for Myrtenaster, which was being held down by Flynt's foot, as her body laid out sprawled over the magma filled terrain.

"Up Schnee!" I yelled, causing Flynt to turn to my side in confusion, unconsciously stepping away from Myrtenaster.

Neon then rushed up to them, and whispered something in Flynt's ear, causing him to nod and say something inaudible back.

She then nodded, and Flynt then took a deep breath as he summoned out his clones once more, each one mirroring over the last's actions.

I glanced over to the monitors to see Neon's aura basically close to red, Flynt's was somewhere around half, and Weiss was about halfway under. My own... was still close to about 75%.

Distance... a good 25 meters away.

Alright, I should be able to take it.

"Come on!" I taunted, grabbing both their attentions while I held out both blades so they faced the end of my palms, twisting them into a reverse strike position as I held them out to level my face as I crouched to balance my center of gravity, overlapping them atop one another.

Flynt's clones, along with the original blew so hard, that doing so puffed his cheeks with a dark tint of red as the soundwave erupted from his trumpets, causing some cracks in the ground I'm standing on, and some shrapnel to fly past me.

Neon rode it once more, unaffected by the deafening melody for unknown reasons, speeding faster then she had ever before, with a vengeful grin forming on her face as she dropped down into a squatting position to stabilize herself, twirling her nunchucks around in an attempt to try and strike me down.

That didn't last long, as I returned her feelings with my own vicious smirk as I held my ground, with a little extra help as Weiss managed to conjure a black glyph underneath me with the last drop of her strength to hold Myrtenaster up, even as she was prone.

The next thing that was heard was a soft, high pitched yelp, as I side stepped, causing Neon to almost hurtle into the wall that stood towering behind me, only for my feet to nail her tail to the ground with a soft crunch, the sudden pain travelling up her spine and the threat of her tail ripping out causing her to go into a complete halt, along with the acceleration too fast for her to handle caused her to fall with a muffled thud.

In complete shock, Flynt's eyes widened as he spat out a puff of air, holding out his knees as he panted heavily in complete exhaustion as Weiss's Myrtenaster clattered on the floor.

"It's done." I said with a sigh, putting a blade towards Neon's throat and tapped it, causing that last 1% to drop, the soft blares indicating that Neon's out. "Thanks Ice Queen."

'Can't we talk about this?' Flynt mouthed something among those lines as he held both hands out as I stormed forwards with both blades on hand.

"Nope." I said, bashing both pommels to either side of his head, and connected my knee to his chin for good measure. Another soft blare, along with the small roaring of the crowds was enough information for me to assume my- our victory.

_Evans's POV_

"Did he really have to do that?" Blake shuddered as she rubbed her forearms as an aftermath of what happened. "That looked like it'd hurt."

"He got a bit carried away... it happens." Yang shrugged.

"Neon has the advantage of speed." I explained. "There was no way he was gonna keep up with her without doing that."

Still, I thought he'll be a little less brutal...

At least we have Aura in this world.

"I don't get it." Blake said. "Flynt's trumpet and Neon's taunts doesn't seem to affect Louis that much, but the total opposite could be said for Weiss. How?"

"Well..." Evans scratched his chin. "Do you guys know the tale of the frog that managed to climb onto a tree?"

All 3 of them shook their heads.

"It goes something like this. A frog decided that one day, he wanted to climb atop a really tall tree, reaching the very top was his goal. All the other frogs on the ground kept muttering "It's impossible! There is no way!" However... despite all that, the frog managed to reach the top. How? Turns out, the frog climbing the tree was deaf and thought all the frogs on the ground was cheering on him."

"O...kay?" Ruby said, still confused.

"That's a very motivational and all Evans." Yang said, wiping a fake tear that caused me to deadpan. "But what does a frog have to do with Louis?"

"He's neither deaf or trying to reach a tall tree." Blake pointed out.

"Well..." I pointed to the giant monitors, causing the rest of team RWBY's gazes to snap towards it as it zoomed in on his face.

Louis was taking out something from his ears, revealing them to be a cork shaped metal with rubber buds on the ends, with some cyan rings encircling it's other ends.

In other words...

Earplugs.

"WHAT?!" All 3 shouted in sync.

"Well... We did tell you guys about the show..." I said, "This fight was actually supposed to happen with Yang and Weiss."

"Did we win?" Yang asked curiously.

"Yes you did, but that's beside the point." I rolled my eyes. "We knew that this fight was gonna rely heavily on sound, so I built those to keep the noise out. Scroll activated too, so its just a tap away from canceling most of the noise around him."

"In other words..." Yang drawled on.

"He cheated." Both Ruby and Blake deadpanned.

"Hey, hindsight is 20/20." I shrugged off as I looked over to the stage to see that Flynt and Neon were complimenting them both... or, just Weiss, from the looks of it. "You guys wanted to win didn't you? Sue me."

_Louis's POV_

"You alright?" I asked as I pulled the heiress up to my level.

"Been better." She scoffed, then a genuine smile spread across her features. "Thank you."

"No prob." I replied. "So... what happened to not relying on me?"

"And just like that, you just ruined the moment." Weiss deadpanned as we walked into the weapon's locker room.

"Cheer up Ice Queen, I was joking." I chuckled. "Come on, your dinner's on me."

"You don't have to-"

"Your dad canceled your credit card the other day, did he not?" I asked with a cocky smirk.

"How- Right..." Weiss sighed. "This is gonna need some getting used to."

"You're telling me." I laughed as I sealed Obsidian Nova inside the lockers.

"Actually Louis, I-"

"Winter?"

"Mhmm..." Weiss nodded as she bit her lower lip nervously, either from the pressure of having to talk to her sister after a long time, or the guilt of leaving her friends for family.

...

"You could just come late," I said after a moment of silence. "besides, it's the middle of the day. Don't worry, we'll save your seat." I waved off.

"You'd... do that?" Weiss raised her brow.

"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" I returned a question towards her by raising my own brow.

...

...

Weiss then blushed, and then stormed out of the locker room. "Don't think this means I forgive you for this morning!" She called out behind her.

...

"How many times do I have to say, That. Wasn't. ME!" I yelled aloud, pulling at my hair.

_Weiss's POV_

_I know._ She thought a small smile spread across her face as she brisk walked her way to the pavilion, where her dear sister is at.

**A/N**

**Okay, those fights take waaaay too long to write. Anyways, I didn't forget about Winter meeting with Weiss, it's just that it's delayed by a day ****due to her punishment being a bit more severe. It's all coming into play next chapter... hopefully.**

**As always, Fav and Follow if you want to keep up to date with this fic, and leave a Review as to what you thought of this chapter, it's what keeps me writing after all!**


	34. Chapter 34

_Cinder's POV_

"Interesting." Cinder mused whilst her eyes observed on the bout below.

"What is?" Mercury asked, raising his brow.

"The way he fights, his style, how there is no doubts or hesitation put into his strikes." She specified. "Brutal and relentless... He has potential."

"You can't be serious." Mercury's gaze switching back and forth between Cinder and Louis as his jaw hit the floor. "You're planning to recruit him?" He pointed accusingly with both hands outstretched. To the audience around them, the gesture might seem as if Mercury had lost a bet on who might win. "You do realize it's a bad if not, the worst idea, that you had ever came up with... right? They were, and still are against us."

"Mercury," Cinder purred, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, though the way she said it with a menacing edge didn't go unnoticed as Mercury gulped uneasily. "I believe you would still be laying sprawled on the floor over the body of your late father in a forest infested with Grimm had I not found you and offered for you to join us. It was just by sheer divine luck that I asked you to help us, as I pitied you. I did come searching for your father, not you, after all. Do not take my kindness for granted."

Her hand crept up on his shoulder and glowed bright orange, though in broad daylight and barely any audience grouped around them, it's hard to tell. "If he does come to our side, you _will_ learn to play nice. Is. That. Clear?" She asked as the palm on his shoulder lit up.

"Yes." Mercury answered, going an octave higher in pitch as he struggled to remain still in his seat with the searing heat so close to his face.

"Good." Cinder said as she stood up, her hot vice slowly uncurling from Mercury's shoulder. "Now, how is our dear Emerald doing?"

"She's... uncertain." Mercury replied honestly as he pat his shoulder from any charring, with the only thing preventing his skin from burning being his aura.

"Of?"

"Of such a public confession like that. As bitchy and as in hard denial as she is, she is still a woman."

"Does she really think that that fool really has genuine feelings for her?" Cinder scoffed sarcastically and tucked her arms under her breasts while she closed her eyes.

"Beats me." Mercury shrugged honestly. "Like it or not, she's still a woman."

_... What's that supposed to mean?_

Cinder raised her brow in curiosity. "And?"

"And, women tend to get more emotional then men. Not all women." He added that last part in a rush as he felt her hand creep up upon his shoulder once more, implying that he wasn't refering to her actions seconds prior. "But most. Obviously Emerald isn't stupid enough to not notice that this is to throw her off."

"But...?"

"But you have to remember, we're about the same age or slightly older then the students here. You're an exception. Heck, even I have to admit that I get a reaction from that buxom blonde from Team RWBY or the Invincible Girl for what they're wearing if I stare for too long. Even the ex White Fang looks like she'll give the bull a run for his money with her figure."

"Hmm..." Cinder leaned back on her seat, looking whilst Louis walked out with the Schnee by his side. "Then what of me? I stay in the same room you do."

His extended silence was answer enough as Cinder chuckled from the back of her seat. "That explains why you were always staring whenever I came out in a towel. I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time."

...

"Do not disappoint me." She commanded.

"I'm not the one your should be worried about." Mercury shrugged a reply as he got up, dusted off his jogging pants, and headed to the locker rooms to prepare.

_Later..._

_Louis's POV_

"Emerald and Mercury of Haven, against Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon!" Port's voice boomed throughout the stadium.

"Good luck you two!" Velvet cheered from the seats in front of us.

"So, who will you rooting for?" Yang asked as she smirked and nudged at Evans softly with her elbow. "Your self proclaimed girlfriend or home field?"

"We haven't even heard or seen of her response to his confession yet." I snorted before Evans could answer, but judging from the look on his face, he wasn't about to give any.

"Speaking of, why didn't you chose to approach her after Louis's fight was finished?" Blake asked.

"I was... nervous?" Evans tried, and apparently it was sufficient.

"We'll just have to confront her after this fight then!" Ruby piped up.

"Yeah!" Yang cheered on as she threw a fist in the air. "Good idea Rubes!"

Evans just gave me a desperate look, to which I shrugged to.

He's nervous alright, because the answer won't just be a simple yes or no.

It was between life or death.

"Oh! Hey Jaune!" Ruby waved to her left, where the blonde knight approached with Ren and Nora on either sides whilst they strolled towards us. "Where's Phyrra?"

"She's currently in a meeting with Ozpin, said that he called for her out of the blue and said it was important and can't decline." Jaune shrugged and shook his head. "She'll join us in a few hours at most. But I'm sure she'll be there for dinner!" Jaune said that last part in a rush as he saw both me and Evans's expression darken, though he assumed it for the wrong reasons.

So...

It has begun.

"Begin!" Port announced.

Oh, that, and the fight too.

_Weiss's POV_

"Winter." Weiss greeted politely as she bowed to the woman, who had her back turned towards Weiss.

"Weiss." She responded with a certain cadence to her tone that could only be described as frustrated, grinding her teeth together as she unintentionally hissed out her sister's name.

_Well she's in a bad mood..._ Weiss thought. _I wonder what could be bothering her..._

"If now isn't a good time, I could always-"

"No." Winter sighed. "Please," She gestured at the seat in front of her. "sit."

"If I'm not overstepping." Weiss carefully threaded as she sensed her sister's distraught emotions whilst she propped Myrtenaster up against the wall. "What... seems to be the problem?"

"It's just work, I shouldn't let that get in the way of family, I apologize." Winter sighed as she settled on a faint smile, beckoning for Weiss to sit down. "To be specific, it has something to do with an odd pair. I believe one of them is your teammate, Louis, if memory serves me right."

"Ahhh..." Weiss dragged on, longer then she intended to._ The fight... of course she'd be frustrated about that. She didn't manage to finish the bout and was publically humiliated after all, then probably again inside of Ozpin's office, by her superior, general Ironwood no less... _

Winter raised her brow and coughed into her fist after her prolonged hand got tired of holding out her hand to gesture to Weiss's seat, immediately snapping Weiss out of her thoughts.

"W-wha?! Oh! Right!" She quickly lifted her chair and sat down as she tried to shake off the thoughts, and poured herself some leaf water.

...

The air around them grew stiff as the two fell silent, Winter not making the situation any less awkward as she calmly sipped her tea.

"So..." Weiss took it upon herself to break the silence between them when it was clear that Winter won't be the one starting the conversation. Her eyes darted between her sister and the table. _I__f this is going to be one of the only times I get to meet Winter... I'm not about to let it go to waste like this._ "I know you said that it was confidential and all, but can't you give me a hint as to when you're leavin-"

"Tonight, actually." Winter answered without hesitation, gaining a shocked look from the heiress's face.

_Tonight? It's too soon... And I just managed to talk to her after what felt like years..._

"I was merely here to foresee the arrival of the shipments, after all." Winter explained. "I believe you had a run in with its cargo about a month prior to the Vytal Tournament, actually."

Weiss gazed down on her table. Just cargo... huh?

Mount Glenn...

"Lucky for you they were in their prototype stage, otherwise your team may not have fared so well."

_I beg to differ... Louis can definitely take that thing down, so could Evans._

_..._

_Wait... Why am I cheering on him?! I could take it down myself if I-_

_What are you doing Weiss? Why are you even lying to yourself? Louis is better suited in combat compared to you... that's why he's moving on to the finals while you get to watch from the sidelines. _

_I never actually improved... did I?_

"Weiss." Winter's expression softened as she took her sister's hand. "You've done... Well, out here, on your own. You should be proud."

That was enough to bring a proud smile to Weiss's face.

_No._

_I'm sure I've improved immensely, it's just that Louis is a faster learner compared to I. Different people, different paces. If Winter said I've done well... then that's proof enough._

"I can't wait to show father what I've learned." Weiss chirped happily.

"Oh?" Winter raised a brow with a bemused expression. "And what do you think you've learned?"

"What do you mean? I've improved immensely after our last encounter, I've even started Time Dilation!" Weiss complained.

"And what of your summoning?"

_Screech_

Weiss winced as she almost fell off her chair. On the last second however, she caught her balance and stood straight up with her hands curled into balls on the table, causing Winter to raise her brow curiously as she propped her chin atop both hands calmly.

"I... can't."

"Don't be foolish, every Schnee cou-"

"No," Weiss cut off. "I didn't mean that I couldn't summon anything at all but..."

"Oh?" Winter raised her curious brow even higher, face more puzzled then Weiss had even seen before. "What are you implying then?"

Weiss's memories flashed back to when she was stuck at the training dojo with Louis, where he made her summon that... thing. The armor that her father made her fight in simulations. The thing that gave her that scar in the first place. A ton of rapid emotions burst forth at once. At first... it was pride that took over her as she marveled upon her first successful try summoning. Before that... it was rage that Louis and the others weren't taking the tournament seriously. Then... it turned to confusion and eventually, fear. Fear was the last emotion she felt as her powerful creation had turned on not only its master, where it had hurt her a second time. Had it not been Louis there, she would have lost the bout for sure.

No...

She wouldn't just _lose_ the fight. She was exhausted after a full day of sparring with the rest of team JNPR, then went for solo training afterwards. There was no denying it.

She would have died.

_It doesn't make sense..._ Weiss thought. _He knew I could have summoned that thing... probably because it happened in that accursed 'show' he's talking about... but if he knew summoning could be that dangerous, why would he have forced it out when I could do it down the line?_

Dare she call him that? After what he had done?

...

Team RWBY and Louis was the closest she had to family other then Winter. Whitely and her father were anything but, always finding suitors or forcing her to do what they feel would be in their best interest.

"I... don't want to." Weiss whimpered as she looked to the ground.

"Weiss...? Is... everything alright?" Winter asked with a tone full of concern.

"I-I'm fine!" Weiss said a little too quickly, pulling back her hand and grasping her chest as she staggered back. "I just... It's the one thing I'm having trouble with."

...

"Show me."

"I-I beg your pardon?" Weiss stammered.

"Show me." Winter repeated.

"B-but..."

"Your Semblance is like a muscle. If you only focus on one aspect of it, or, in your case, never want to try again, how could you believe you have any chance of improving?" Winter mocked as she drew her sabre from her sheath upon standing up.

"Now, show me what you've learned."

_Emerald's POV_

"Evans?" Coco shouted. "What the fuck are you doing here?! You're supposed to be watching safely from the spectator seats!"

_Why..._

_Why can't I get him out of my head?!_

_I don't even like the guy!_

Mercury then shot her a glare, and then dove into her as bullets flew overhead.

"Em concentrate!" Mercury shouted, eyes widening as the taller of the two opponents leapt in with a sword hung overhead, and delivered a devastating impact that could have left a mark, which it did, a huge one in fact, on the ground. Were it not for Mercury's quick thinking in dashing and carrying Emerald into the forest, that could have been their faces.

"Em, what are you doing?!"

_I LOVE YOU!_

"Can't..."

"Can't?" Mercury raised his brow. "What do you-"

"I can't do this!" Emerald yelled as she grasped her hair in panicked confusion.

"Cinder's gonna have our heads!" Mercury's voice dropped to a whisper as he looked around to look for any potential danger, only to pause as his mouth hung in the air.

"M-merc?" Emerald asked him.

"Em... if you can hear me... I need you to maintain control... now..."

"Wait wha-"

"You have the wrong target..." Mercury said between heavy pants as his chest rose and fell, his shoulders stiff as a log as he slowly backed away from Emerald. "You're making me see him! Lots of him to be specific! He's all around me... I can't get a lock on Adel's location!"

What?!

"YEEEAAAAAARGHHHH!" A battle cry resounded from above them as a giant shadow stretched out, followed by the rattling of a minigun being fired in a distance not too far away. The last thing Emerald saw... was a giant, orange cleaver.

_Louis's POV_

"And that's the match! Team CFVY is the winner!" Port announced with joy, probably because those were one of few teams that managed to win the old, pudgy man's heart by being well behaved students who scored higher then anyone else in their year.

"Oof..." Yang cringed as she reeled back, putting a hand to her face, but the space between the middle and the pointer finger said she was looking nonetheless. "That's gotta hurt."

"That's definitely gonna leave a mark." I admitted.

"But... what happened there?" Blake asked with a raised brow. "They look... very distracted."

"Stage fright probably? I'm sure they're just nervous to have performed in front of so many people." I shrugged off easily, even if obviously that wasn't the case. "Especially when they're from Haven and we have the home field advantage."

"Aww... that's too bad..." Ruby said with a saddened expression, though admittedly, not as sad as when Coco and Yatsu lost in utter defeat.

With their eyes glued to the fight, I nodded to Evans for a silent message, to which, he nodded in response.

_Later..._

_Evan's POV_

"You guys go on ahead." I said as we walked down the hallways of the dormitory. "I'll catch up with you guys for dinner later."

"You sure you don't want us to come along?" Blake asked.

"Oh, going for the straightforward approach I see..." Yang teased whilst making smooching noises with her lips, avoiding making much more vulgar gestures since we're in front of Ruby, not that any of us missed it, however. "That's one way to comfort her alright."

"Cut him some slack will you?" Louis deadpanned. "I'm sure he'll tell us her answer to his confession afterwards, for now, let's give him a chance to approach her personally."

"I wasn't planning to come anyways." Yang snorted, both hands linking behind her neck as she leaned backwards. "Uncle Qrow invited us to play games back at our dorms."

"He did?!" Ruby jumped up in excitement.

"Sounds like he recovered well." I said, Louis nodding along in agreement. "You both should go and have fun. He rarely visits anyways... right?"

"Mhmm..." Ruby perked up and smiled. "You wanna come along Louis? He has to apologize for attacking the both of you, after all."

"Eh, no apologies needed." Louis chuckled nervously as I glanced at me, who faked a cough. "I'll be exploring the festival stalls if you guys need me. I heard there were some carnival games going on."

"Blake? How about you?" Yang asked.

"Book stalls..." Blake drooled.

"R...ight..."

"Alright then brother, godspeed." Louis patted my back, silently wishing me luck. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Don't hold your breath. Start without me if I'm late."

Louis looked behind his shoulder with a deadpan expression that made an obvious remark.

'You always are.' he seemed to say as he walked away with a 2 finger salute.

...

...

After they had left, I sighed while my arm was raised up to the door, and gave it 3 swift knocks.

Before I had a chance to change my mind, an arm grabbed my collar, and pulled me in, effectively knocking me down to the floor in the process.

"What do you want?" Emerald growled as the blade of her sickle made its way to my throat.

"Oof!" a gust of air threw itself out of my mouth as Mercury stepped down, and aimed his ironclad boot on my navals.

Looking around, only the two were present in their dorms.

_Heh... lucky me._

"Come on, is that a way to greet your future boyfriend?" I smiled cockily.

"I don't know what you're planning, seer." Emerald growled as her cheeks flushed dark red.

_So, my confession really did it's work... that explains the fight._ I smirked both internally and externally.

"But it's not gonna work."

_Yeah, keep lying to yourself._ I thought internally. _Illusions may be your semblance, but from where I'm standing? The greatest illusion you cast my dear, is upon yourself, thinking that Cinder actually cares for you._

I shrugged and gestured around. "Had I anything planned, you would all be arrested by now. I could have warned Ozpin, Ironwood, or just about anybody else, but I didn't, and came alone."

"That would be your biggest mistake." Emerald said as the edge of her blade sunk further on my adam's apple, daring me to swallow and gulp down the moisture forming in my mouth, with the only thing preventing it from tearing my throat apart being my aura.

"Alright, you want me to be blunt? Fine." I said flatly, gaining me shocked looks on their faces, probably due to how calm I am to be at both knife and gun point.

Both Mercury and Emerald looked at each other with a raised brow.

"First of all, that confession was genuine." I snorted, getting Emerald to look away puzzled, cheeks going dark red once more. "But if you really need me to prove it to you... Let me join your side."

"Excuse me?" Emerald laughed sarcastically. "You really think we're that stupid? Cinder isn't just gonna recruit a seer out of a whim like that."

Mercury coughed and looked away.

"... Right?" Emerald asked with a raised brow.

"Keep telling yourself that. I'm sure you already met one of my subordinates, Psycho Smile." Both Mercury and Emerald's eyes widened at the mention of that name.

"Yeah, didn't think he died, did you? We have living proof of what you guys did. He had to be brainwashed while I'm gonna come willingly because of my feelings towards Emerald. You can't brainwash me either, otherwise Louis would find out, and stop me. So, what is it gonna be?" I smirked as the two actually considered my proposition.

"If you're so content on joining us, why go against us in the first place?" Mercury questioned, lifting his boot off my stomach. "You could've came to us sooner, being a seer, you should know about our whereabouts at any given place at anytime."

Not every and anytime.

"And blow my cover?" I scoffed. "I thought you knew better then that. Cinder did choose you two specifically for this espionage mission. How did you even get this far without patience? I thought you should have more then enough of that, if you all managed to act all goody two shoes for this long."

...

...

After a few minutes of silence, a voice sounded from behind Emerald. By the slight disortion of the voice, I'd take a wild guess and say it came from a scroll.

"Prove it." Cinder's voice went through the scroll's speaker. _Not that I could see her face since I'm stuck here on the ground and the scroll is on a bed._

"Heh, so one of the elite four was listening in. I guess the walls do have ears after all."

"Ma'am, you can't be serio-" Emerald tried to reason, but was cut off almost immediately.

"Know your place Emerald." Cinder snapped, effectively cutting the red eyed girl off. "Who I recruit, is none of your concern. If anything, you should be thankful you aren't cast out yet after such a spectacular display of failure, miserable wench."

"Y-yes ma'am..." Emerald stammered as the blade left my throat shakily, confusion taking over her rage.

"So." I rubbed my throat as I sat up. "Prove it huh? Consider it done. I'll make sure Beacon falls when it needs to."

"And if it doesn't?" Mercury asked. "What then?"

"I'm not going anywhere. You know where to find me. Make sure you make an appointment first though." I waved off as I went out the door.

_Mercury's POV_

"You're not trusting him with this at all, are you?" Mercury asked over the scroll once a few minutes after the door clicked shut, with Emerald sitting at the edge of her bed, back hunched and both a forlorn and a look of disbelief present on her face.

"No." Cinder replied simply with an amused smirk on her face present on the small screen. "Not one bit. But I am curious to what he has in mind. We'll have to see it plays out. It was his fault our initial plans didn't went accordingly, after all."

"And if he doesn't keep his promise?" Mercury asked. "If Beacon doesn't fall when it's supposed to?"

"Then I have a contingency plan that would ensure it does." Cinder said. "I discovered something in Ironwood's scroll... some interestingly confidential information. It'll show Atlas for it's true colors, which I'm sure even the world would be pleased to know."

"Sounds like a plan." Mercury smirked back, and ended the call.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." Emerald groaned, muffled by her hands as her face dove into her palms.

"Oh Emerald, I love you." Mercury mimicked, and then made kissing motions with his lips.

"You're lucky I didn't kill you when I found you in tatters." She glared at him. "Don't push your luck Merc."

_In Team RWBY's dorms..._

"Look..." Qrow sighed as he turned back over his shoulder. "You two, you're gonna go far, but only if you keep learning... If you never stop moving forward."

Ruby staggered back.

"Everything alright pipsqueak?" Qrow raised a brow.

"Y-yeah..." She stammered. "I'm fine."

Though it didn't look convincing, a nod from Yang ensured Qrow Ruby would be in good hands.

"Wanna talk about it with your cool uncle? You know I could always keep a secret or two from your old man."

"Who says it's a secret!" Ruby yelped, and regretted it immediately as her uncle's brow rose higher.

"I-it's nothing Uncle Qrow, really. Just make sure to apologize to Louis and Evans after this."

"Funny." He chuckled. "I don't even recall attacking them or the Ice Queen. Wish I had footage of that."

"I'm sure Ozpin would just delete it anyways, were it ever uploaded to Beacon's website." Yang snorted. "You weren't exactly handling it in your usual 'Cool Uncle' style anyways, there's nothing to show off about that."

"Oh yeah?" Qrow smirked. "Think you can one up your uncle?"

"I know I can." Yang poked her tounge out. "Were it not Louis going to the finals tommorow, the world would be watching this Sunny Little Dragon kick ass!"

"Oh?" Qrow chuckled in amusement. "Looks like somebody one upped you and two upped me."

"He deserves it." Yang shrugged. "After what he's been through. Now shoo old man. Us young girls need to have a little girl talk. A heart to heart between sisters."

"I wore a skirt before, does that count?"

Ruby's mouth fell open.

"No way." Yang giggled, throwing a friendly punch to his shoulder.

"You could always double check with Tai." He chuckled, then his face turned dead serious.

"Anything I should concern myself with?" He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps... boy troubles?"

"Hehahaha... nothing of the sort." Yang scratched the back of her head nervously while Ruby looked to the ground, and bobbed her head once. "See? Not in a million years!"

Either his eyesight is getting worse, or Ruby's hood is blending with her cheeks, because then next thing that happened... is that he shrugged it off. "If you say so." He said, and closed the door behind him.

_Yang's POV_

"Rubes? Something wrong?"

"I-its nothing..."

"It's something." Yang chuckled as she made her way to Ruby's side, and started to weave her hands through the young girl's hair. "I raised you. You should know better then to try and hide something away from me."

"It's just that... Louis said the same thing to me." Ruby admitted. "When I was down and unconfident about being a leader."

"Well, I shouldn't be surprised." Yang shrugged, as if it was obvious. The truth still confuses them. It's not that they didn't believe him, but the concept of there being another world other then their own was still _out of this world._ Heh... especially about that part about being in 'a show'. _What is it like? A world without Grimm sounds like paradise to me._ "Still, I'm glad." Yang said.

"About?"

"He doesn't just treat us like some 'characters from a show', but regarded us like actual friends."

_But that might be because he already knew about our personalities to begin with. I wouldn't really consider it a bad thing though... It's not like they're bad people at heart, and their friendship with us is genuine. Louis hadn't done anything to take advantage of them, he was just 'advancing plot points' as he put it, which meant that it would happen eventually. _

_That wasn't a bad thing... right?_

"Yeah... I've been thinking about that too... Does that mean that he has to go... eventually?" Ruby pondered with a saddened expression as she flopped back onto Weiss's bed with a soft thump.

"What do you mean?"

"He said it himself... he's not supposed to be here. What if he has a choice to go back? To earth, I mean... if he does go back, would you miss him?" Ruby asked as tears started to prick the edge of her eyes. "I know I will." Her voice cracked.

"Rubes..." Yang hushed her and cradled Ruby in her arms. "Of course I am, and I'm sure both Weiss and Blake will too... Team JNPR as well, but it's not our decision to make. It's his."

"I guess it's just a matter of time then." Ruby sighed in the comfort of her arms.

_I really wish the Vytal tournament be over already._ Yang sighed internally._ The faster I could have the talk with Louis about Ruby, the better. If he's gonna date my sister, it'd better be worth her time. _

_I also need to confront him about Raven..._

_Other then meeting her on the train... he might, no, should know of her current location._

_If Qrow won't tell me... _

_He will._

_Weiss's POV_

"I can't!" Weiss complained as the small glyph flickered fiercely on the ground, the helmet of Arma Gigas present above ground if only barely.

"Stop doubting yourself!" Winter snarled.

"I'm trying!"

"If this is what you call trying, then you have no chance of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a huntress." Winter mocked. "Why don't you just go back home? I'm sure father would give you a nice job as a receptionist."

"I don't need his charity." Weiss snapped back as the glyph shattered, the helmet of said armor getting chopped mid summon, effectively decapitating it from the rest of it's body as the head rolled towards Winter.

"But you do need his money, don't you?" Winter smirked as she stepped on Arma Gigas's head, making it clatter like a rusty bucket as it hissed on the hard concrete floor in the pavilion, watching it disperse as a gentle breeze blew by.

"Wait, how'd you know about that?!" Weiss asked, eyes wide.

"Lucky guess."

Weiss staggered backwards, almost tripping on the steps had Winter not caught her.

"Something wrong?"

"No you just... reminded me of a certain someone's catch phrase." Weiss mumbled. "Anyways, how did you know?"

"I may have been in a similar situation when I decided to join the military, so what have you done this time?"

...

...

"Perhaps it's so you would stop avoiding him, and call home."

Cheeks red with rage, panting heavily, Weiss held out Myrtenaster as she focused all her strength, her emotions, her rage into the glyph as Arma Gigas erected from the ground, slowly coming into the plane of reality from the glyph that glowed and spun furiously on the ground.

"There's your problem right there, dear sister." Winter mused at the armour as she put a hand around Weiss's shoulder, causing the glyph to cut halfway as Arma Gigas was cut off by it's chest. "You let your hatred for father get the better of you. I don't completely disagree with your opinion, but I wouldn't let that rage consume me. That's why your familiar disobeyed you in the first place."

Weiss let out a long and desperate sigh.

"It seems to me like you have 2 choices in front of you. "You can either call him ,beg for his money back and explain once more why you want to study at Beacon over Atlas."

Weiss looked down on the floor, definitely not liking the odds of that option.

"Or... you could continue to explore Remnant. Discovering more about the world and honestly, more about yourself."

Weiss looked up into her sister's navy blue orbs.

_About... myself?_

"It's time for me to go." Winter sighed sadly as she drew Weiss in for a hug.

"It's really nice to see you again Winter."

"Until next time sist-"

"M-Ma'am! We have a situation!" A voice cracked over the intercoms.

Winter's eye twitched.

"What is it?" Winter sighed in frustration as she tapped the earpiece.

"O-our ships ma'am! They suddenly won't elevate while the controls and monitors shut off, we can't seem to restart the system. It'll take a while for repairs but-"

"How long?" Winter snapped over the intercoms.

"A-a few days ma'am..."

Weiss raised her brow.

"Did you identify the cause?"

"There... seems to be a few small spikes with blue rings embedded in the hull ma'am, they're attached like heavy magnets, we don't have the required tools to pry them off."

With a heavy sigh, she turned to Weiss, who couldn't spread a hopeful smile from overtaking her face.

"Nevermind... looks like I'll be here just a little while longer." Winter sighed.

_Later that night..._

_Louis's POV_

"To advancing to the finals!" Jaune clanked his cup along with ours, and chugged down his orange juice.

"Yeah!" Yang and the rest cheered, following Jaune's example, and drank their respective drinks.

"Where is Evans though?" Nora asked, wiping grape soda from the edge of her mouth with the back of her arm as her eyes darted around. "I thought he, of all people, would make it here."

"He'll be here soon." I promised. "He likes to be fashionably late as always, so you shouldn't let that concern you."

"I'm back!" Evans yelled as he entered the cafeteria with a goofy smile on his face, strolling down the cafeteria with Clumsy D, well and alive, by his side.

"See?" I shrugged.

"Well well, somebody's happy." Yang teased. "I take it things went your way?" She said as she played with her tounge inside her mouth and jerked a fist back and forth.

My eyes hovered over to Ruby, who was busy drinking half a gallon of milk in a pitcher as she tilted it atop her face, chugging it down like there was no tomorrow.

"You could say that." He admitted with a shrug, ignoring Yang's rude gestures completely, waving it off as both he and Dwiki took a seat opposite to Team RWBY, where JNPR was at. Team RWBY almost immediately fled to my left side, causing my mug of coffee to teeter as the bench wobbled around on how fast the motion was. Luckily, not a single drop of hot coffee was spilt.

_It's good coffee too. I wonder if the cafeteria serves the same thing Ozpin has in his mug..._

"Hmm..." Dwiki pretended like it didn't sting his pride (Not like he had any to begin with) as he started to drink his sarsaparilla flavored soda, with ice cream on top.

"Oh don't worry about him." I chuckled, trying to calm them down as their expressions and stiff shoulders said they were anything but. It seemed to help a little that I was their great wall against such a threat, but their eyes kept darting back and forth between their sister team and the odd man out.

"Aaaanyway..." Jaune dragged on after seeing the girls weird reactions. "Who is this?"

"Oh him?" I asked, pointing towards the man in question. "Right, I don't think you've met. A friend of ours... Dwiki. He's..."

"Socially awkward, moody, lazy and retarded." Evans said bluntly. Dwiki opened his mouth to counter, but a cold glare from the both of us caused it to clamp shut almost immediately.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad can it?" Jaune smiled as he got up. "Name's Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"I know." He scoffed as he looked in the other direction.

"O...kay, maybe it is that bad... Sorta reminds me on when we first met you Louis."

"What is wrong with you?" Phyrra shot up as she gave Dwiki a dirty look.

"Sorry bout that." I said hastily before an all out war or another food fight could break out as I motioned for her to sit down. "He has no ill intentions." I shrugged. "That's just how he is."

"He's always like this?" Phyrra asked with a raised brow, uncertain whether that be the truth or not. Her expression asked the question 'How are you even friends with this guy?'

"Eeyup." I confirmed with a nod.

"Great news everyone!" Weiss burst through the doors with a the widest smile I've ever seen spread across her face. "Winter's staying for a while!"

"Y...ay?" I raised my brow at her.

"Is that a good thing?" Yang questioned.

"What do you mean? Of course it's wonderful news!" Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What Yang's trying to say... is what is this supposed to mean? No offense, Weiss." Blake added quickly as the heiress's jaw dropped and reeled back, feeling betrayed. "I'm glad that you have a relative that's staying here. Especially one that you haven't met in a long time. Family is important. However... if she's extending her stay, then shouldn't we be on high alert? She's part of the Atlesian Military, is she not? Isn't the fact that she is postponing leaving Beacon tell us that there might be a major issue up ahead?"

"Well, it's nothing too major." Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's just that her ship suddenly decided to go haywire."

"Haywire?" I asked, raising my brow. "Define how that isn't something major?"

"As in someone sabotaged her ship."

"That's... A minor issue?" I questioned.

_Then what the fuck would be considered major?!_

"Should we be worried for your sister's safety?" Ruby asked, tone filled with concern. "What if it shuts down mid flight?"

"They identified the problem already." Weiss replied. "As expected of Atlas Military, swift actions had been taken."

"So... what seems to be the problem?" Yang questioned with a raised brow.

"There are small metal spikes on the ship's hull, they're strong magnets and they can't pry it off. Technicians mentioned them having blue rings, and nothing a little engineering can't fix. But other then that, they should have it up and running in a few days."

"That's terrible!" Ruby exclaimed. "Who would do such a thing?!"

My eyes roved over to Evans, who had his grin hidden behind his cup of strawberry flavored soda the entire time, not that anybody noticed with their attention on the heiress. As our eyes met, a silent conversation then took place.

'Dude... you EMP'ed Winter's ship?'

'Maaaaybe...'

...

'And what makes you think that was a good idea?'

'It wasn't.' He shrugged.

'So...'

'Backup, for the fall. She doesn't get that much screentime anyways, and it's not like she has much to do except go to back to Atlas after this.'

'But couldn't you think of a better way to do it rather then EMP an Atlesian Specialist? You do know she's gonna put 2 and 2 together eventually right? Atlas probably has fingerprint scanners and shit from CSI and others alike.'

'The Fall of Beacon will override that priority.' Evans smirked confidently.

'If you say so.' I sighed. 'Just don't be the one replacing Torchwick in that cell.'

'Hey, Qrow destroyed "Atlas Military Property." And he came out of that without a scratch.'

'That was different!"

"Louis? Something wrong?" Yang asked as she noticed my frustrated expression while my eyes locked with Evans.

"It's nothing." I said quickly, glancing over to her as I smiled. "So, you guys confident about facing the finals tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Nora fistbumped the air. "We have a champion in our ranks! Who are you guys sending after?"

"Louis." Team RWBY replied in sync.

"Yeah..." I chuckled nervously. "Evans is competing for his."

"That's great. Don't expect me to go easy on any of you if we meet down the line though." Phyrra smirked with vibrant confidence.

"That's my line." Evans laughed.

"Jaune, what are you doing with Phyrra?" Dwiki asked with a flat expression, swapping the topics almost immediately, causing everybody's attention to snap to his.

"Hm? They didn't tell you?" Jaune asked. "Louis and Evans helped us get together."

"Both of us were at fault." Phyrra admitted. "I was too scared and nervous to admit it while Jaune was too dense to notice. With a little push, they'd help set us up."

"What?" Dwiki asked, eyes wide, his attention grasped and his fake, non caring character he was pretending to be shattered into pieces as he showed some form of emotion ever since he entered the cafeteria. "Why? What for?"

"What do you mean?" Phyrra asked, clutching her boyfriend's arm tighter. "Are you perhaps one of my fans who like me in that way? I... apologize, but I'm taken." She offered kindly, hoping to cushion the blow.

"No." Dwiki admitted shaking his head as he turned towards us. "It's not that. Why would you guys even pair them together?"

What?

"Anything wrong with that?" I raised my brow curiously. _What is he hinting at?_

"I don't get it, you're not in love with Phyrra, and you're not against it either, so what are you saying?" Jaune asked, tone full of concern.

"What are you doing all this for?" He asked me. "You do realize she's just gonna die tommorow anyway, right?"

**A/N**

**Audience: "Why is it that you made BlackSun and Arkos so easy?"**

**Clumsy D: "Yes."**

**Lots of stuff to write about this chapter, a lot more to come. Probs the longest chapter at almost 7k words minus A/Ns**

**As always, Fav and Follow if you want to keep up to date with this fic, and leave a Review as to what you thought of this chapter, it's what keeps me writing after all! Thank you!**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N**

**Okay, I apologize for the delay, but last week's string of events was just downright unexpectedly bullocks.**

**There was a 7.4 Earthquake quite a distance away, but it shook throughout the whole continent. Afterwards, it looks like Evans's EMP was a bit too powerful that it spread to the real world, for it knocked out the power from pretty much the country for a good 1 to 2 days, depending on the area. I got the full 2. In other words, internet or data is slow, and I don't have the patience to re write stuff in case the internet wasn't powerful enough to 'save'.**

**Afterwards, I was sick for another 3 days, that caused me to be bedridden for one of those days.**

**Just an unfortunate string of events. It happens.**

"Wh...at?" Pyrrha asked with her jaw hitting the floor as she reeled backwards, almost falling off her seat in utter shock.

"Yeah, and Yang loses her arm, and Penny gets torn apart to ribbons, oh, you killed her by the way, and- MPH!"

Dwiki didn't manage to finish his sentence as Evans clamped a hand around his ever spouting jaw.

"What did he just say?!" Jaune roared as he shot up, slamming both his arms on the table and leant forwards. "How dare you say that about Pyrrha?!" He pointed accusingly on Dwiki's face. "What right do you have to talk about her like THAT?!"

"I can't help but agree." The eastern gunman said, voice calm yet stern. "She would never hurt, let alone kill anyone. The same goes for all of us. We're Huntsman and Huntresses, the only thing we're only ever killing from time to time is Grimm."

"My arm?" Yang questioned with a raised brow at the edge of her seat as she stared at her hand and flexed her fingers, curling her fingers into a ball and spreading it into a palm, as if a puppet just given life. "I'm gonna... lose it?"

"P-Penny?" Ruby stammered and shook from her seat in terror as a cold beat of sweat trickled down the side of her cheek, it took Yang to hug her tightly for her to calm down, and even then, she was still shivering in utter shock at the mental image it conjured up. "S-She's gonna d-die?"

"Of course not!" Weiss scoffed, then one eye cracked open, looking at me as she uncrossed her arms. "Right?"

"Mph, Mph mppppph!" Dwiki muffled groans audible on Evans's hand, and I can see from the struggling and disgusted expression on his face that he's trying his best not to let go of the vice grip and wipe off that spittle Dwiki is currently spraying on his palms as he continued trashing around like a beached dolphin.

"Hahaha what a jester you are D!" Evans sarcastically laughed, no, more like pronounced each word aloud. "You need to work on your jokes cuz they are Not. Funny!"

What...

the fuck...

Just happened?

It all happened so fast that my mind wasn't able to process it all up till a few minutes after the damage had been done.

"That's definitely not something to be poked fun at." Nora pointed out, a rare frown making it's way to her face. "Even I wouldn't joke about something like that... and I'm me!"

Nobody in their right mind would.

"L...Louis?" A small voice called out from my left timidly.

Shit...

My head slowly turned around to see 4 faces of my team with their eyes locked onto mine, their expressions petrified in both confusion and fear. Some had their mouths opening and closing, but no words came out.

It took a while for my disarrayed brain to register that the small whimper came out of our silver eyed leader.

"W-What does he mean... when he says P-Pyrrha's gonna die tomorrow?" Even in her sister's arms, Ruby shook and stammered in fear, however, keeping her silver orbs locked to my brown ones, her tone indicating that she's awaiting- no, pleading, for me to play it off as some sick joke.

"Louis, What are you not telling us?" Weiss asked with a concerned tone, arms tucked under her breasts once more and a raised brow.

"Louis..." Yang asked with wide eyes. "What's gonna happen tomorrow?"

What am I supposed to say?

There is nothing I can say that'll make things better from the harsh and brutally simple truth Dwiki just served on a silver platter.

Motherfucker just never could keep his damn mouth shut...

"..." My eyes darted down to stare down at the table. Unable to meet their eyes, I ground my teeth as I tried to wrack my brain for words, but in the end, came up empty.

"Please." Blake grabbed my hand and forced me to look back into her amber eyes, begging for me to agree to what she's gonna say next. "Please tell me he's playing around, that this is one cruel joke like Evans said. Please tell me- no, us, that this isn't just another slip up."

"..."

Nothing.

I can't come up with anything that'll reassure them everything will be alright...

Despite being their emotional pillar that usually supports them through the accurate predictions, out of all the times I could come out empty handed...

It had to be now.

It had to be when they're feeling the most uncertain, looking to me for my opinion, my reassurance,

My confirmation.

...

Damnit!

Damn Dwiki!

Damnit all...

"Tommorow... " I started with a heavy sigh. "Beacon... "

"Beacon... ?" Blake drawled on.

Evans's eyes widened in shock. "You sure about this?" He asked.

I hesitated, but gave him a half assed nod.

Dwiki just told them their fates, spat it right in their faces. What good is there in an attempt to mitigae it, let alone denying it?

I kept my voice to a low whisper as I muttered "Beacon is gonna fall..."

...

...

Team RWBY's eyes widened and they reeled backwards in shock, with Yang being at the very edge almost getting pushed onto the ground had she not shot up.

"You knew?!" The blonde brawler of team RWBY shouted, slamming both hands on the table. "This entire time you knew all this would happen and didn't think to tell us?!"

"Wait, what are they talking about?" Jaune asked. "Louis's friend just overstayed his welcome didn't he? There is no way in telling if what he says will come true..."

"Un.. believable..." Weiss muttered between breaths as she hissed them out of grinding teeth, her shoulders rising and falling in pure rage.

Before I had any chance to respond I felt red hot stinging on my face, my neck snapping towards the same direction the impact came from, and followed with a burning sensation on my cheek, a red palm printing itself on the side of my face.

I looked up as Weiss's chest rose and fell in anger and frustration.

"What happened to 'trusting in one another'?! She yelled loud enough that people standing outside close enough to cafeteria might have heard. "What happened to being a team?!"

The pain I felt on my cheek was miniscule compared to the guilt welling up inside of me, rising from the dark depths of my stomach and rapidly forced itself upwards, creating a large lump in my throat.

"I-"

Without warning, a fist flew into my mid section, followed up by a resounding echo of shotgun shells being fired off that bounced off the walls, sending me hurtling towards one of the concrete pillars on the other side of the room.

"Yang!" Pyrrha yelled out in shock. "That's-!"

"None of your business." Yang snarled as she pushed back the chair holding Team RWBY, dragging it behind her with a loud screech.

There was no need to look into her eyes to know they were glowing crimson and her hair burnt with hot white flames as I felt the scorching heat of her aura tingle my skin, even from a good distance away.

"W-what...?" Jaune questioned. "Hey, wait!"

He seemingly stopped himself for no known reason, and made no move to intervene.

I wouldn't have wanted him to either ways...

This is my mess... and mine alone.

_Okay..._ I thought as I held my navals with one hand after doubling over with a loud thud. _I guess I deserved that..._

_Just gotta make sure they focus it all on me, and not Evans. He's not to blame for this..._

_No need to get anyone else involved..._

I forced my eyes to peel itself open, in time to see black boots with some red embroidery patterns on it.

...

"Why..." Ruby asked from above, causing me to force my gaze on the hard floor, and try my best not look up. "Why didn't you tell us about this?!"

Because you wouldn't be able to stay still if I did.

Because you'd push yourselves into danger if I did.

Because you'd all pursue Cinder and possibly Salem if I did.

...

Because you all would die...

If I did.

"Ruby I..."

"Don't talk to him Rubes." Yang scoffed, dragging her sister away by her arm. "He'll probably lie again right in your face to get out of this situation. Won't be the first time. Come on girls, let's go back to our dorms."

With that, she stormed out with Weiss in tow, as they heavily dug their boots or heels on the cafeteria's floor on the way out, with purpose to emphasize their fustration.

...

"I'm sorry Ruby." I said, trying to ease her feelings of betrayal, but to no avail.

"We... trusted you..." She said between breaths, though in came out in short pants through grit teeth. "I... trusted you. Why don't you trust us like we trust you?"

"It's not that!" I said, eyes snapping up and regretting it almost immediately. Her face was full of so much pain, so much anger. "It was never about trust."

"Then what is it?!" She screamed in my face, before breaking down on her knees to try to get on my level and catch my attention so that I met her eyes.

I didn't.

"Were we ever a team?!"

"We are. But this is something you wouldn't understand..." I muttered, forcing my eyes back to the floor and prayed that the guilt that was welling up inside me would stop growing ever so rapidly. "If there was ever any trust between us, then you should know how I feel about you and our team. I would never put any of you in danger."

"Then why...?"

"It's not something I can explain in words Ruby... You wouldn't understand it... none of you ever will... I'm sorry."

"Then make me understand!"

"..."

"Louis... I want to trust you." She stated honestly. "Really, I do. But please... tell us what's going on? Why is Beacon gonna fall tommorow? Who's gonna make it happenl? Please! we can stop them before it happens!"

_CRACK_

"YOU CAN'T!" I shouted aloud, slamming my fist on the ground, embedding a small crater on the tile to my left.

...

"You can't..." I repeated in a whisper. "I know what you're thinking, I could've told you beforehand, and you could have warned Ozpin and the other teachers to prevent this, but you can't. It isn't that simple... No matter how I wish it were. This is bigger you guys could handle. It's bigger then what any Professor could. Even with Ozpin's help... He...

he lost."

...

"So that's it then?" She muttered under her breath. "You're just gonna give up?"

"..."

"Well I'm not about to just stand by and do nothing."

"Don't be stupid Ruby." I warned with a snarl. "They're dangerous."

"Watch me." She said, as she slowly got up to her feet. "I'm gonna stop them no matter what."

She stood there for a moment, literally looking down at me. What does she think of me?

A coward?

A liar?

It didn't matter. After but a few minutes of silence, I heard small tapping as she hurriedly scurried away, chasing after her sister.

As the boots that were filling my gaze made its way out of my sights, it unwittingly causing the deep feeling of despair to grow inside me as each step seemed to send my confidence plummeting into the depths of ever redeeming, or even sparing my status with them as their friends.

Raven colored heels then replaced them not long after, and that was more then enough information for me to take a wild guess of the identity of the one replacing Ruby in front of me.

The last member of our team.

Blake didn't say anything, and neither did I, but I can tell that her amber eyes is boring into the back of my nape, prompting me to say something.

"Blake... "

No response...

Not like I expected any.

I took that as a chance to continue.

"I... I'm sorry... But..." I ground my teeth, breaths heavy between ragged pants and hoping that even though she isn't replying, she's at least listening to me. "Everything I do... I do it for a reason."

This situation is too big for you.

For any of you.

"I hope you, of all people, understand."

"..."

_You too huh._

_I thought she of all people would understand keeping a secret or two for the sake of others, to ensure their safety._

"..."

"Listen." I sighed. "I'm not asking for you or team RWBY's forgiveness. I know I fucked up. After all we've been through, you guys don't deserve to be lied at, hence why I told the truth. Everything you've all done, you guys... no, nobody shouldn't even be burdened with this knowledge. You don't deserve this... Nobody does. But if our friendship, or more, we shared for the past year means anything at least promise me one thing. Can you do that?"

"..."

"Whatever happens... with or without me, promise me that you would stick to team RWBY, that you won't run away from your problems and abandon them again. Can you help me ensure that?"

...

...

...

Without giving an answer, those heels turned around and started to click away as she chased after her remaining teammates back to their dorms.

_I'll take that as a yes. _I thought with a small, lopsided smile.

"Fucking hell..." Evans jerked his hands back and forth from all that spittle on the palm of his hand as he rushed over to my side, eyes wide at the big crater that rests behind me as he tried to prop me up but afraid that he would break me at my fragile state. "You alright brother?!"

"I'm fine." I spluttered out a few drops of blood along to the floor to my right as I felt a some of my internal organs rupturing even with my aura concealing it. "Thanks a bunch nutsack." I growled at Dwiki, staggering up as Evans hefted me up by my shoulder.

"What?" He shrugged innocently. "Why me? They're gonna find out about the truth tomorrow anyways."

"That doesn't mean you have to rub it in their faces idiot!" I roared in frustration. "You do realize that by doing this, you've just doomed us all by altering their course of action right?!"

"Then why are you blaming me? Why me? Why is it always me?" He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Christ, the only thing he adopted from the typical harem MC is their density." Evans deadpanned. "No charm, no style, just full retarded denseness."

"I can't help but agree." I deadpanned somehow, before I hissed out in pain at the throbbing pain on my side. "I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that he's attempting to be dense or the fact that he's in hard denial."

"L-Louis! Are you alright?!"

It took me a second to notice a second figure hefting my arm around his- no, her, shoulder.

"What... just happened?" Pyrrha asked as she rushed to my side after recovering from the initial shock of Yang attacking her own teammate with full force, propping me up on my other side. "Why did she lash out like that?! Beacon is gonna fall? Louis... what's going on?!"

"What should we do?" Evans asked after a while as they both set me down on an empty bench.

"What can we do?" I sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.

I don't even know how I'm gonna regain their trust after that little shit show.

I'm not gonna have their support after this.

Fuck...

What am I to do...

...

...

"Ramen?" Evans patted my back.

_Are you serious right now?_ I wanted to shout at him, but a quick glance at his expression told me that he was just attempting his best to cheer me up.

"Yeah... I could use some ramen right now... Ramen sounds nice." I did my best attempt at a smile, and got off Evans, gesturing for him to stay by the doors.

"But first..." I clarified. "I have some things to do." That earned a small smile on Evans's face while I limped towards where team JNPR is sat at, hunched with one hand over my bruised naval, Pyrrha slinging my other arm over her shoulder, just in case I wasn't strong enough to walk on my own yet.

"Thanks..." I gave a small whisper beside her.

"N-no problem." Pyrrha replied shakily. "But I've never seen Yang that angry before. What did you do? What's going on?"

"It's more of what I didn't do Pyrrha." I chuckled weakly.

...

...

_A few minutes ago..._

_Pyrrha's__ POV_

_I'm gonna... die..._

_..._

_To...morrow...?_

_Penny is gonna die... because of ... me?_

BOOM

The loud echoing boom over the nearly empty cafeteria immediately snapped her out of her thoughts as Louis flew across the other side of the room.

"Yang!" Pyrrha gasped. "That's-"

"None of your business..." She dragged her feet backwards as the bench that was carrying Team RWBY screeched backwards.

_What do you mean none of my business?!_

_That's your teammate! Your friend!_

"W-what...?" Jaune questioned as he held his hand out, dragging the seat behind him as he tried to intervine. "Hey, wait!"

Ren and Nora however, held a hand back.

"Ren... Nora? What are you both doing?!" Jaune asked.

"Nobody can stop her Jaune." Ren said. "Not at the state she's in right now. Not Pyrrha..."

_And certainly not you._ Pyrrha finished the message in her head.

"It's too dangerous." Nora warned. "It's not just Yang." She pointed at their sister team storming off. "The why though, is still up in the air."

_Why would she- no, they...?_

_Shouldn't it be Louis's friend Dwiki be the one who gets the full brunt of the impact? _Pyrrha added as an afterthought as she looked towards the man in question, who's currently struggling with Evans to break free of his iron grasp. From Evans's expression he's just trying his best not to break Dwiki's jaw. _What's happening...?_

"Evans?" Ren looked at him, awaiting an explaination.

"No comment." Evans struggled to get out as Dwiki trashed about.

Ren sighed, Nora looked at him funny, but her boyfriend wasn't just about to sit still and accept all this.

"No comment?! What is that supposed to mean? You're gonna keep us in the dark too?!"

"No comment." Evans repeated with a snort. There's something he isn't telling us, and with the way he is looking at us, it's as if he expected that this convoluted reveal of sorts would've happened eventually, though whether its from him, Louis or someone else remains unclear. "If you want information, then you're gonna have to wait for it. Louis will tell you when the time is right. I'm gonna trust in his judgement. My lips are sealed."

"Grhh..." Jaune ground his teeth together, but stopped himself from going any further and making the situation much more worse then it already is as he stared off to where Louis was.

Pyrrha turned back on time to see Blake in front of Louis, clenching her hands into fists so hard her knuckles ran white.

"Blake... I... I'm sorry... But there is a reason behind everything I do. I hope you understand." Louis muttered from the other side of the room, chest heaving up and down as he used his hands to support himself from falling over, but even without looking at him straight in the eye, is clearly experiencing pain.

_Both mentally and physically... _Pyrhha added as she stared at him.

"Whatever happens... with or without me, promise me that team RWBY will stay as a team. Can you help me ensure that?" He asked Blake.

Was it just her imagination? Or did Blake's eyes widen as her fists unclenched?

A few minutes later... she left the cafeteria hastily.

"You better be quiet you little shit." Evans said in his ear. "One more spoiler out of that trap and I'll be drowning you with mayonnaise, and not the Japanese kind, for the next 2 months, understand?"

Dwiki hesitated... but then eventually gave a small nod, causing Evans to rush over to his side.

"L-Louis! Are you alright?!" Phyrra yelled out, only noticing now that she did nothing but watch as the whole drama unfolded in front of her eyes.

_This doesn't make any sense... _She thought as she rushed over, but her instincts kicked in and told her that Louis is badly injured and needs help to walk.

_..._

_..._

"Dwiki get THE FUCK Over here before you fuck something else up!" Evans basically screamed atop his lungs from the doorway.

"Haaagh..." Dwiki gave off a low pitched groan that best resembles like a cow mooing. "Why me? What did I do?" He scuttled off to Evans's side.

"Louis... please tell us what's going on..." Phyrra's emerald eyes shone pleadingly as she set Louis across from where JNPR was sat at.

As she craned her neck and rejoined her team, could see both Nora and Jaune had a tinge of guilt in their expressions. If Ren had any, he didn't show it as he hid it well behind a thick façade by sipping herbal tea. "Why were they so aggressive towards you, and not Dwiki? It doesn't make sense."

"None of it does Phyrra..." Louis said as he stared into Phyrra's emerald eyes. "And none of it will if I'm gonna tell you guys the truth of the situation." He glanced towards team JNPR, who all looked nothing but puzzled. "The truth is never easy to accept, after all."

_Truth...?_

"Okay," He sighed. "There is no easy way around this so... I'm just gonna say it as honestly as I could without being too vague." He said as he stared into the red haired champion's eyes.

_No easy way around... what?_

"Pyrrha, please trust in your friends a little more, especially those in your team. This_..._ _choice_... " He started off with a tinge of hesitation. "that you have to make... is too big for you to decide on your own."

Her emerald orbs snapped directly into Louis's brown eyes.

_Wait..._

_He knows?!_

_The maiden?_

_Ozpin?_

_All of it?! _

Her breathing started to increase in pace, calm breaths becoming ragged pants as she started to hyperventilate.

"P...Pyrhha?" Jaune asked as he laid a hand on her back. "Are you okay? Louis, what did you do to her?!"

"Calm down." Louis reassured while he held his hands up to show he wasn't holding a weapon. "I didn't do anything at all Jaune. I'm just trying giving her advice, as a friend." He then turned to face her. "There is no good in panicking about it. Especially not now."

_He's right but..._

_How?!_

_There's no way he's talking about anything else..._

_But Ozpin had told her this was not public information..._

_So why did Louis of all people, know this?_

_No no, you're just overthinking it, _She thought, shaking her head_. there is no way he knows. I haven't told anybody, not even Jaune._

_But what else could he be referring to?_

"A choice you say...?" The blonde knight asked, eyes on the ceiling as he rubbed his chin in confusion. "Pyr... what is he talking about? What choice?" Then he let out a loud gasp as his eyes widened. "Are you perhaps cheating behind my back?"

It would have been so... so much easier if it was about that.

"No Jaune." Louis answered for her. "It's... more complicated then that."

"How could you be so sure? She could be cheating on me with you for all I know."

Louis shot him a deadpan glare that cause him to wince. It would have been funny if it weren't for the severity of the situation.

"O...kay, nevermind about that, but that doesn't explain your friend here accusing Pyrrha of murder, dying and then of killing Ruby's friend." Jaune held his ground.

"It's really not something I want to talk about in public." Louis replied with a heavy sigh. "I wish I could explain it to all of you, but after all that drama, I don't think you trust me. Clearly team RWBY didn't."

Jaune shot Nora a nervous glance, but she just returned it.

"Well..." Nora said. "You are part of their team as well but..."

"But it's better if you hear it from team RWBY on your own. Perhaps it will answer their earlier aggressions towards me as well." Louis cut off.

"You're not going to even deny that you're guilty?" Ren questioned with a raised brow.

"No." He replied simply. "There is no use denying facts. I have been keeping a secret from all of you and it has to come out some time, no matter how much I want to keep it hidden."

"Then why not explain it to us here? Right now?" Nora asked, arms wide. "The cafeteria is pretty much desserted, we're the only ones here."

"You never know who's listening." Louis replied, gaining team JNPR's eyes to widen. "And not everybody is gonna accept the truth. It's... not something Remenant is ready to hear. It's best you hear it from your sister team. At least that way, you'll get to look at them in the eye and determine for yourselves on whether its genuine or just another _fairy tale_."

His eyes darted to Pyrhha as he emphasized those last few words.

Phyrra hesitated for a moment.

_Is he... serious...?_

_If Ozpin was right, and the maiden was attacked en route..._

_Does that mean Louis and his people are the assailants?!_ She panicked internally but attempted to remain calm throughout the whole exchange.

...

_No..._

_If he was then he would've killed her by now._

_I refuse to believe that he's here at Beacon just to exploit any of us._

_I mean,_

_What benefit does he have in setting me up with Jaune?!_

_None._

_But that doesn't answer how he knows about the Maiden's powers..._

_It all doesn't make sense..._

_A double agent perhaps?_

"Phyrra?" Louis asked as if he was awaiting confirmation, snapping her right out of her thoughts.

"Y-yes?" She asked.

"I said you shouldn't have any regrets, you have every right to accept or decline the offer, it's your birthright. It's your life. You shouldn't have any heavy things burdening your mind, especially choices that could cause you a lifetime of suffering. Nobody should have to go through the same thing you're going through right now. Rely on your team. Tell them what's going on. You can trust both them and RWBY."

"Pyr... what's he talking about?" Jaune asked, actually scared that Phyrra is not denying any of this. "What's going on?"

"She'll explain it to you, when she's ready Jaune."

"Funny." Jaune scoffed, crossing his arms looking cross. "Your friend there." he nodded off to Evans who had his back faced towards them. "Said the same thing about you."

"What can I say?" He shrugged off honestly. "Patience is a virtue. Plus you shouldn't bite off more then you can chew."

What is he trying to say...?

Can she trust him?

She stared into his brown orbs.

There was no hesitation, no attempted trickery, no pressure and no attempted guilt trips, and no malice.

No looks that any of the trio, the people she thought were her headmasters, her teachers, the people she could trust, had given her back in the chamber under the school...

Louis isn't telling any lies... But he's not telling the whole truth either.

"Why?" She asked, getting Louis to raise his brow. "Why now of all times? Why not before?"

"You are asking the wrong questions." He replied with a shake of his head.

If he knows about the maidens powers... then...

"Then what's the correct answer?" She asked, tone not short of fear as her body shook and trembled violently from head to toe. "I'm so... so... scared." She said as tears started to prick the edge of her eyes.

"Pyr..." Jaune drew her in for a hug.

"I know." Louis replied with a sigh. "Who wouldn't be in your situation?"

"What should I do?"

...

After a while, he got up and replied "You're you. No one is going to take that away from you." Louis answered as he turned around, and walked off with a 2 finger salute. "Do what you think you think is right. Not as what anyone else expects you to be, but as Pyrhha Nikos."

As... me?

"Of course she will." Jaune scoffed. "Who else would she be?"

Jaune...

"People change Jaune." Louis yelled as he looked over his back. "Sometimes the change is so rapid, so unexpected, and so sudden that you wouldn't even recognize them anymore. So tell me, would you still be able to enjoy spending time with them even then?"

"What... was that abou- Pyr?" Jaune mumbled, utterly confused by his words, but then got cut off.

She buried her face deep within his shoulder as the dam in her eyes broke free, and streams tears started to profusely pour out.

"Jaune... " She sniffled. No matter how much she wished to stop, she can't help but get choked up.

I could trust my team...

I could trust team RWBY.

And I can definitely trust Jaune.

"Guys, I have something... to tell you."

"Not here." Ren spoke up, voice dropping as low as a whisper while Nora responded with a small nod. "Remember what Louis said."

"You still trust him?" Jaune asked, eyes narrowed. "After all that?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly with a shrug. "But there isn't anything to lose with being too careful."

With a nod, they slowly got up, and placed their trays on the dishwashers, before heading out the cafeteria doors, and snuck back to their dorms.

Louis's POV

"Well, that didn't go so well." Evans sighed.

"You're telling me." I grumbled as I burried my head in my arms, slamming them onto the counter.

"I still don't get how that's my fault." Dwiki scoffed, facing his back towards us as he tapped his scroll open.

"Dude, stop acting like a tsundere, its disgusting as shit." Evans grimmaced in disgust at the mental image it conjured up. "Usually it's a cute girl meant for the main character, but in your case... Just, no."

"Have you met Dwiki?" I muffled my groans from having my head buried in my own arms. "If he isn't trying to get his harem, he's trying to deny everything we're accusing him of, no matter how factual or close to home it is."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He huffed. "What harem?"

"My point exactly..."

"Riiiiight." Evans facepalmed.

Our bowls arrived much later then expected, considering the speed of which old man Shopkeep works at, but our minds were too distracted to even take note.

"Thanks." Evans thanked the owner without looking up.

"No problem." He replied.

Huh... That doesn't sound like old man shopkeep.

He sounds... younger.

"What do you think will happen now though?" Evans cut into my thoughts.

"I'm... not sure." I replied honestly as I got up, taking a spoonful of broth and lifting it up to my chin.

"They sure as hell aren't gonna sit around and mope about it." Evans pointed out, blowing his spoon in hopes that the mixture wouldn't be too hot as it entered his mouth.

And that's the problem.

With team RWBY now knowing that Pyrhha will die tommorow, they would probably, no, will attempt to prevent it somehow, even though they don't know when or where the event is gonna take place.

"Damnit Dwiki... " I cursed as I glared to my left. "Wrong place, wrong time. Every. Single. Time."

"Yeah man." Evans sighed. "Do you need to spoil everything?"

"Name one." He huffed.

"Infinity War."

"Okay, name two."

"Persona 5."

Dwiki gave up on trying to defend himself as he tried to drown himself in the sea of delicious broth.

With a heavy sigh, both me and Evans sipped on our spoons.

Our eyes widened.

"Evans..."

"Y-yeah..."

This isn't the simple pork broth that we had a few days ago.

For the past year, both of us have tried culinary from all over Vale, with old man shopkeep's 'The Simple Wok' being a local favorite. Never, in all our time eating there, has there ever been something so thick, dark, rich and full of complex flavor.

There was no mistaking it...

This was Tonkotsu ramen, a special rich broth that doesn't exist in Remnant.

And even if it does, Old man shopkeep wouldn't just swap out her menu out of a whim like that.

"E-excuse me." Evans stammered to say, attempting his best to swap out his order. "I didn't order thi-"

His attempt to refute the order was met with the shattering of porcelain, as the one who served us dropped some bowls.

"Well it's about time you guys showed up." The familiar voice called out from behind the counter. "What's 'Me' without 'The bois' Am I right?"

"Kevin." I said without looking up, a small smirk coming to my face as I lifted the spoon to my mouth, and savored the flavor of the rich broth.

A shadow made its way towards us, and a hand crept on top of the table.

"So... These black and white things I've hearing about... Grimm was it?" He asked himself putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Are these the aliens I've heard about surrounding Area 51? Is that where we are right now?"

"The irony is rich Kev." I managed a weak laugh, pushing through the pain on my bruised side.

_In Team RWBY's dorms..._

_Blake's POV_

"I can't believe he lied to us!" Weiss shouted, heels digging into the tiles as she stomped back and forth, pacing around the room. "After all this time!"

Betrayal, confusion, fear, anger, sadness. These were just few of many emotions welling up in team RWBY right now, and it was constantly growing, with no signs of halting anytime soon.

Ruby just kept quiet as she pulled a pillow over her head in her bunk.

"Why would he do that?! Doesn't he trust us?!" Weiss shouted. "If he told us in advance we could have at least caught the perpetrators in advance!"

_Everything done, is done with a reason..._

"First, he went and threatened to quit the team. Then, we found out he wasn't even from the same world we live in, and now we found out he's hiding this?!" Yang yelled, eyes still temporarily red from the anger as her hair floated around the room, coating a huge area in the air like a flying carpet as it glowed and burned.

"What should we do?" Weiss questioned in frustration with her arms crossed across her chest. "We're not just gonna sit here and let Beacon fall are we?"

"Of course not!" Ruby retaliated from Weiss' bunk, shooting up immediately.

Blake was sure she heard a soft "But.." Inaudible to the human ears, but her 2nd pair managed to pick it up.

"But how is it gonna happen?" Yang asked. "We don't even know what's the cause of the fall, let alone how to stop it."

"I guess we should have sorted that out before we used Louis as a punching bag." Blake sighed.

"You're making it sound like he's gonna tell us if we push the issue." Weiss scoffed. "Don't tell me you're gonna defend him, even after that fiasco?"

"Of course not." Blake shook her head. "But I was wondering how we're gonna tackle this situation. I mean, where do we even start?"

"... said it was impossible..." Ruby mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Weiss questioned with a raised brow.

"He said it was impossible to prevent the fall of Beacon tommorow. He told me Ozpin will lose defending the school..."

The girls all staggered backwards, expressions aghast as they tried to digest the message that was passed on to Ruby as the atmosphere in the room suddenly became heavy as nearly all hope is drained out of the team almost immediately.

...

...

"Ozpin... will lose?" Blake asked with a small voice close to a whisper.

"Ha...hahahaa." Yang let out a defeated chuckle as a palm raised up to her face, concealing her half blank expression, her shoulders slumping as she plopped down onto her bed.

"They're dangerous." Ruby nodded.

"So there's really nothing we can do?" Weiss bit her lower lip nervously, nearly causing it to break skin as she tried to think of a way out.

"There has to be something!" Yang shot up to a sitting position. "Anything!"

There was 3 knocks on the door that stopped them from any further discussion, though it sounded more like an argument was happening in the room.

With a frustrated sigh, Weiss's heels dug into the ground as she made her way to the door, and swung it open widely.

"H-hey Weiss." Jaune greeted as he scratched the back of his head. "I-"

"I don't think now's a good time Jaune." Weiss offered as kindly as she could. Of course, that meant delivering it with a frown big enough to make a Beowolf jealous, and an icy cold glare, and to top it off, with her arms crossed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're having interpersonal team problems right now."

"Yeah, but you have no clue as to what's happening now do you?" He asked with a shrug.

"Yeah neither do you vomit boy." Yang deadpanned.

"I think I might have a lead." He said as Pyrhha poked her head from behind his shoulder, eyes red and tear strains forming on her cheeks from the constant crying.

"Pyrhha? What's wrong?" Ruby crawled up to the door.

Poking her head out, the red haired leader saw Ren leaning to the side of the wall with his arms crossed, and Nora with an unusually flat expression.

"A lead?" Blake asked from inside the room.

"Yeah, how about we trade info." Jaune offered. "It's better if we work together rather then leave each other in the dark."

"I don't think we have any information that you might find useful Jaune." Ruby said, though there is a tinge of nervousness in her tone.

_Just what information does he have for us anyway?_

"I beg to differ." He insisted with crossed arms. "I want to know why you attacked your teammate like that."

"Wouldn't you like to know." Yang stood up with crossed arms, eyes turning lilac for the first time in the past hour. "What's got you so interested all of the sudden?"

"Louis told me that I could ask you guys."

"Louis did?" Everybody looked at each other, blinking owlishly as they exchanged puzzled looks.

_But he said he wanted to keep it within the team..._

_What happened to that?_

_..._

_..._

"O...kay..." Yang sighed. "Make yourselves right at home. But be warned." She turned around for dramatic effect. "You might want to hang on to your seats for this..."

**A/N**

**Nothing much to say here. The team isn't really torn apart, per se, but the fall is definitely coming... soon.**

**This chapter definitely took a while cuz of me trying to organize the flow of conversation to make it sound more naturally. A ton of deleting and adding was done these past 2 weeks.**

**Also, I just noticed we gained quite the amount of followers! Obviously not as much as most fics that are deemed to be 'successful' per se, but enough to make me happy that people are slowly taking notice and are enjoying reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it. So, thank you for reading and sticking throughout!**

**Edit: After posting, I realized that there were a ton of mistakes. Apologies for that, especially the unfinished sentences. There were litterally cases where I was typing on my phone and fell asleep writing them. A quick refresh should do the job, since I fixed most of them. Gonna do a quick sweep tonight.**

**Also, I'll be ****starting to delete Reviewer Sessions in past chapters, since it's starting to mess with the word count. I'll probably keep it to 3/4 chapters prior... If I'm not lazy to delete em.**

**For those of you who haven't yet, if you like this fic, be sure to Fav and Follow! Leave a review down below for your thoughts. It's what keeps me writing this fic after all.**


	36. Chapter 36

_Louis's POV_

_Creak_

"Wooh." Kevin's face scrunched up and waved his hands around his face as we entered the guest dorms. "Smells like a pigsty in here."

"You could blame Edgy D for that." I deadpanned, looking around as the rest entered the room.

Dayum... Junior and the Malachite twins sure made sure to clean up after Edgy D's mess...

"He stayed here?" Kevin asked. "I'm surprised the sheets aren't yellow and the room isn't coated with moss yet."

"Please don't remind me." I winced. "We need to stay here for the night. You do realize that, right?"

"Well then, let's just hope he stuck to one bed." He shrugged off. "Otherwise, I'm sleeping on the floors, it's probably cleaner there. Speaking of which, where is he?"

A small droplet of water sploshed on the bathroom floor, snapping our heads in that direction almost immediately that Dwiki might've gotten whiplash.

"You wanna do the honors?" I asked Evans with a sly smirk.

"Oh boy..." Evans winced as he crept up to the door, and wrapped his fingers around the handle, slowly grasping his way to his doom.

_Creeeaaak_

"No... more... No... more..."

Derrick was huddled up to his knees, drenched thin, white shirt that did little to cover his body and eyes almost popping out of his sockets as he muttered like a traumatized psychopath.

"Der... ick?" Kevin's head popped up on Evans's shoulders.

"AAAAAHHH!" He shouted aloud, startling all of us, both in and out of the room.

"Hey junior..." Coco poked her head in as she passed by the door, with the gentle giant poking his head in above her. "Everything alright in there?"

"Coco! Yatsuhashi! Yeah... everything's all good and dandy." I laughed nervously while I scratched the back of my head. "How bout you two?"

"All... good." She said, craning her neck to the side and saw Evans, and 2 other people she didn't recognize, body blocking the bathroom door.

"I guess you're uhh... feeling confident after gaining that victory huh?" I waved off, swaying my body to the left as I attempted to distract her. "Feeling good about the finals?"

"Yeah... great. Listen, we're just gonna..."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Someone shouted from within the bathroom, causing Yatsuhashi, of all people, to stagger back.

...

"There's... someone trapped in there?"

"Please, just don't question it." I facepalmed.

...

"Is it Cardin?"

...

...

"Yeap." I whistled innocently.

"Keep it up." She smirked, sliding her shades down her nose. "If anybody asks, me and Yatsu didn't see anything. Come on Yatsu!" She skipped along happily whilst dragging Yatsuhashi down the corridor by the back of his collar.

"But..." The gentle giant called out.

"No buts." Coco smirked as she waved off, disappearing behind a corner.

I heaved a heavy sigh of relief, and locked the doors, and walked to the bed.

"Alright let's just settle down..." Evans held out both hands as both Dwiki and Kevin let go.

"You... did this... to me..." He hissed as he had his back hunched, and his hands clamped into fisticuffs.

"Calm down." Kevin echoed after Evans. "You look like caveman Spongebob right now. Dry yourself up and maybe you guys could explain to me what I'm missing."

_Later..._

_SMACK_

"Oww! What was that for?" Dwiki complained as he grasped the back of his head with both arms.

"For a lot of things." Kevin scoffed. "You deserve a lot more then just one smack on the head. Speaking off..."

_SMACK_

"Kev, what the fuck?!" Derrick rubbed the back of his head.

"And you deserve way worse... at least Dwiki isn't making a move on them."

"What moves?" Dwiki asked.

"Yet..." Kevin whispered under his breath.

"So... yeah, that's our situation right now." I sighed.

"So let me get this straight." Kevin held out both hands, as if addressing an audience.

_Oh boy... here we go._

"We isekai'd to a world not via truck kun, but via 5 dudes riding on a Hyundai I10... because Adrian got high right before he took us on a road trip."

"Yeap." I confirmed.

"Atlas...

Vacuo...

Vale...

Mistral...

Long ago the four nations lived together in perfect harmony. Then, everything changed when the Grimm nation attacked-"

"It's not a... well I guess the Land of Darkness is it's own independent land." Evans said after a thought, rubbing his chin.

"Only Ozpin, master of all 4 relics can stop them. But when the world needed him most... he vanished."

"Died." Both me and Evans corrected.

"A hundred years passed and the main characters discovered the new Ozpin, a farmhand named Oscar. And although his voice actor was great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But they believed, Oscar can save the world."

"Did you just use The Last Airbender's intro to explain what Ozpin is?" Dwiki asked a little too late, gaining 4 unamused glares.

"Anyways... In this world... Remnant if I recalled correctly, the characters are split into group of fours. Louis and Evans arrived together, with Louis becoming the harem MC-"

"Excuse me?" I questioned, raising my brow.

"Evans told me on the way here that you slept with all of them."

I glared daggers at the man in question, who shrugged apologetically.

"No fair!" Dwiki whined, crossing his arms. "How come he gets to be a harem M-"

_SMACK_

"Haaaagh!" He mooed. "Why me?"

"You know very well why you." Kevin snorted. "Anyways, Louis got placed in a team full of girls while Evans got placed in a team full of jocks. You two decided that the best course of action to quench your boredom is to advance some plot points, which, honestly, doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"It isn't." Both me and Evans shrugged.

"But then stuff started to get unpredictable as ramifications started to happen. A few stuff from the same franchise but other mediums started to leak in being one of them, though that was minor due to both Louis and Evans's knowledge on some of them, Derrick getting brainwashed by the bad guys being the other, meeting a crackhead like Adrian or a spoilerman like Dwiki being the most recent and most collateral of them all."

"Preeetty much..." I sighed and scratched the back of my head, and glanced over to Dwiki as I saw him grumbling under his breath.

"Grimm are ancient fossilized thingys roaming around, with bone structure thingys extruding out of their bodies. They're basically the enemy of all mankind in Remnant, controlled by an immortal entity 'Queen' named Salem, who's basically pissed off at two gods because her ex lover died, whilst they refused to pull a revival on him because both Fullmetal Alchemist or a Tokyo Ravens proved for it to be a bad idea both magically, and scientifically."

"Well, they're gods, so they could do whatever the fuck they want without costs, but..."

"He came back to life... because two gods who refused to bring him back to life in the first place... brought him... back to... life..." He sounded hesitantly confused for a second, as if he didn't believe in his own words, before he decided to continue. "They rage quitted after deciding that the 'How many times to we have to teach you this lesson old man?' method didn't work on Salem, and just... gave up and bailed?"

"Uhh... just roll with it." I facepalmed, forgetting how confusing Vol 6 was for me.

First was the revival of Ozpin, despite the gods going against what they had initially planned. Afterwards, he roamed Remnant, which was filled with humans (And faunus to some extent) right after the eradication of humankind.

Yeah... just gotta roll with it.

The more I think about it, the more it's giving me a bad headache.

"They tasked him with keeping 4 Shen Gong Wu safe-"

"What?" Evans asked, raising a brow.

"You know, Shen Gong Wu."

"They're not-"

"They're stuff that does stuff when their names are called."

...

...

...

"Well yes but-"

"Then it's a

Shen.

Gong.

WU!"

"Okay, for copyright purposes let's please just call them relics." I muttered.

"Fine." He scoffed. "He decided to split the location of the four Shen- Relics into 4 separate schools, in 4 separate locations, only openable by 4 separate maidens, so that his ex wouldn't be able to find them and use them against him. That didn't stop her from trying however, and it's all gonna go down tomorrow, with the bad guys right under the wizard's noses."

"Wow... You just summarized the main plot under 5 minutes in references and memes." Evans clapped, eyes wide with amazement. "Good job."

"So, what are you guys gonna do now that well..." Kevin glared daggers at Dwiki. "He fucked up by telling the main characters their friends deaths?"

I looked to Evans, who looked at me in return.

"I don't really know." I admitted as I looked down on the floor. "There isn't much we could do to stop them..."

"Who are you referring to?" Kevin asked as he raised his brow. "The bad guys or the main characters?"

"Both."

That was when we heard frantic knocking on the doors.

"Adrian?" Evans asked as he opened the door to see who was standing in the doorway. "The hell have you been?" His guilty expression said he forgot all about him.

With the recent events that took place, so did I.

"You guys would never guess what happened!" He announced excitedly as he jittered up and down.

"Uhm... do I want to know?" I asked him.

"Who knows?" Evans shrugged. "It could be a good thing."

"Will this explain why you overslept?" I raised my brow. "I mean, you usually wake up at 7."

"No way, I never wake up that earl-"

"P.m."

"Oh... right..."

...

"Well?" I asked.

"Well... sort of!" He admitted.

...

...

"Are you gonna tell us or what?"

"I thought you guys wanted to take a wild guest first."

"Ugh..." I rolled my eyes and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not in a mood for games right now, you take over Evans."

"Let me guess, you hallucinated that you slept with a girl." Evans said.

The way he said it indicated that it was meant to be sarcastic.

"No, but close enough!"

"WHAT?!" All of us shouted.

"I went..."

All of us inched closer.

"To a girls bed..."

All of us were in his face right now.

"And sat on it!"

We all facefaulted.

"Dude... that was anticlimactic as shit." I deadpanned. "Let me guess, a girl named Cinder?"

"How'd you guess?" He asked, eyes wide with suspicion.

"WHAT?!" Me and Evans yelled aloud. "The fuck were you thinking?!"

"What? She's hot!" Adrian said.

"I don't even think you noticed your unintentional pun there." Evans scowled. "She's dangerous you idiot!"

"Great..." I rubbed my nose ridge between my eyes. "What did you tell her?"

"Not much..." He said.

Our glares on him intensified.

After a moment of thought, he added. "At least not that I can remember."

"He got drugged?" Kevin questioned.

"I think he drugged himself." Derrick said.

"Hm? What's that behind you though?" Dwiki pointed, causing our eyes to trail to a black, silky smooth thin piece of satin that was poking out of both his breast pocket and the pocket of his jeans.

"Oh these?" He took them out to reveal black, elbow length arm sleeves. "Got them from Cinder's room before I slept in another."

Our eyes widened.

"She... Handed them over?"

"No," he laughed, before picking one up to take a huge, long, whiff of it. "I took it, to remind myself to give it back to her should our paths cross one day.'

"If that's... what I think it is..." I gulped as I stared to Evans, and back to the thing, leaning back as far as my back could take me as if it's a radioactive substance.

Evans nervously nodded.

_Shift_

Exchanging what little information they know, both teams manage grasp a vague understanding of what the other party has to say, gaining them a decent insight on the situation. Unfortunately for both teams however, time was not on their side, and flew faster then they had anticipated.

The light poured through the curtains and into the room, signaling the dawn of a new day.

Usually, this would cause everybody to feel rejuvenated, regardless of if they are a morning person or not, the morning sun would still usually put a smile on their face. It's usually the time of the day where people freshen up and get ready to enjoy their morning, with Weiss scowling for Yang to hurry up in the restroom or nagging at Ruby for always taking it first. Unfortunately, nobody in both team RWBY and JNPR has the luxury to feel that way today. They felt time slipping through their hands like running tap water, agonizingly torturing their current state of mind, and the slow ticking from the hands of the clock on their wall isn't helping.

If anything, it's doing the exact opposite.

Team RWBY and JNPR sat ajar to each other, with some sat cross legged on the floor. Although both teams didn't get a wink of sleep, they surprisingly didn't feel tired or fatigued in any way. Not with the torrents of adrenaline flowing through their veins, causing blood to rush up to their heads, and their hearts hammering against their chest with a speck of hope that they could come up with some way to avoid their precious school from being reduced to rubble.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The words Dwiki said echoed nonchalantly in their ears, every ticking second causing ripples of chills down their spine as their inevitable fate approached, preventing them from getting any rest.

If anything, they all felt jittery and are on high alert instead, as if they expect the assailants or dangerous Grimm to come bursting out from all four sides of the room simultaneously at any given moment.

Some even took it as far as to unholster their weapons, Yang being one of them for pretty much wearing Ember Celica almost all the time, except when sleeping and in the shower. Ren, still heeding Louis's warning about how the walls might have ears had Stormflower ready by both sides, Weiss, who was clutching onto Myrtenaster's handle so hard her knuckles ran white.

"So..." Ruby drawled on, putting a hand to her chin in thought while she stared at the ceiling. "Fairy tales huh? The Four Maidens... are real?"

"And that's what these people who're gonna destroy the school, are presumably after?" Weiss asked for further confirmation, though she knew the answer, her mind still can't wrap around the new mythically complex information she was given. "Are you certain it isn't something else?"

"It's definitely the power of the maidens they're after." Ren nodded in reassurance, though his eyes seem to dart around in caution. "I can't see what other hopes they mean to achieve by doing this, if they have a secondary objective, then it remains unclear. But one thing is for certain, an assault this massive of a scale would just raise alarms, confusion and mass panic."

"And with panic..." Jaune muttered.

"Comes Grimm..." Ruby finished, looking down at the floor for a few moments, before whimpering in disbelief. "They'll willing to sacrifice half of Vale just for the sake of that power?"

"People tend to do whatever it takes to gain or to be in power. People are greedy by nature." Weiss sighed in fustration, rubbing the ridge between her eyebrows. "It's just how Remenant works."

"We need to be on high alert." Blake pointed out, causing everyone to look at her for an explanation. "This isn't just someone like Torchwick we're talking about here. As far as we know, he's still in a cell in one of Ironwood's ships, so he can't be part of this."

"And...?" Weiss raised her brow, not seeing the connection. "What does Torchwick being in jail have to do with this?"

"When I- we faced Torchwick... we... struggled. We have to at least assume that the ones responsible are at least his level."

"Or more." Yang pointed out, eyes widening in horror. "He's a thief, sure, and may not have high regards regarding the lives of henchmen he hires, humans or faunus kind, but I don't think he's the type to go on a killing spree unless he absolutely must tie loose ends."

"But he is akin to what a Professional Huntsman or Huntress's level is like." Weiss agreed. "And we've fought him before. Still, what Yang is saying is true as well." Weiss added quickly when Yang opened her mouth to speak. "If what Louis is saying is true, that these people could bypass Professor Ozpin of all people, using Torchwick as a benchmark of what we'll be facing is like comparing a Beowolf to a Goliath."

...

"I still can't believe Louis is an alien!" Nora wailed, throwing her arms up in the air, cutting away for the topic at hand abruptly. "I mean... aliens exist? What all those programs on television are saying are true?"

"No, I'm sure those are made up." Ren admitted, also trying to digest this new fact. "But if what he's saying is true..."

"That would mean that Evans and his other friend who sat with us during dinner... " Jaune breathed heavily through dry lips as he stared into the hard floor, mind trying to process this otherworldly information. "Are from another world too."

"We're... A show that he watches? In a world named... Earth?" Pyrhha said slowly, as if explaining it to a small child. However, ironically, it is she herself who's trying to comprehend this new knowledge. She looked around and questioned herself if there were cameras watching them right now. "That explains how he knew about the maiden's powers beforehand, even though I made sure I didn't tell anybody."

"It was hard for us to believe it at first as well." Weiss admitted. "And quite frankly, we just went along with it because nothing that guy does makes sense."

"Professor Ozpin couldn't have chosen a better time revealing the maiden to Pyrhha." Weiss sighed, rubbing the space between her eyes. Her shoulders felt heavy, as if someone just dropped bowling balls on them. "Right when the assault on Beacon to happen. It's too convenient, it's as if the bad guys doesn't even need to do anything. He's just as bad as Louis in terms of his timing."

"On the contrary, I don't think we were ever supposed find out Weiss." Yang pointed out, looking cross. "It doesn't look like Louis or Evans was gonna tell us anything. It just... slipped."

"Everything he does..." Blake echoed after Louis's last words. "Is done for a reason..."

"Does that mean he has a plan?" Ruby asked, eyes wide with realization. "Since he knew this was coming from a mile away?"

...

"Doesn't matter." Yang snapped, lilac eyes flashing red in a split second as the memories came flooding back. "We can't rely on him for this, we'll have a plan on our own. We don't need him. He can do all he wants for all I care."

"Yang..." Pyrhha sighed. "He's your teammate."

"What kind of teammate doesn't trust their other teammates?" This time it was Weiss who snarled, crossing her arms. "We could've prevented the fall together. If he has a plan, he clearly doesn't trust us to execute it together. What kind of a teammate does that?!"

Pyrhha remained silent.

"That idiot..." Weiss sighed. "What does he hope to achieve? He admitted it himself... their physiology is no different from ours. If the ones causing the fall could outright beat Ozpin, our headmaster, probably the most powerful Hunstman we know at the moment, what could they hope to achieve?"

"Professor Ozpin..." Ruby muttered. "The enemies have to be cheating... there's no way the headmaster of Beacon would go down that easily... right?"

"Professor Ozpin..." Jaune put a hand to his chin in thought, looking down at the floor.

"A maiden, powers gained based on the four seasons..." Yang muttered. "And one of them, right under our feet."

"The maiden..." Blake held a hand to her chin in deep thought. "Who would have thought that such folklores was real? A living, breathing, maiden... right under our feet."

"But she's dying..." Ruby murmured in despair. "We have to do something."

"It's power unparalleled... and is only transferable to young women..." Weiss summarized. "And if you don't take up the offer, the powers are just gonna go to her assailant because it goes to the person she thinks of last..."

"Professor Ozpin would never allow that." Ruby retaliated.

"Not if he has a choice." Weiss murmured.

"Does that mean..." Jaune asked, eyes wide. "What Louis's friend is saying... is gonna come true?"

As team RWBY exchanged uneasy glances with each other, wondering who would take the short end of the stick to tell them the bad news, fortunately or in this case, unfortunately for them, they didn't have to, for Jaune assumed the silence as a confirmation by himself.

"Oh..."

"This is just all... just so much information. To cram it all into our heads when the event is happening today is just..." Pyrhha said.

"Is there anything we can do?" Nora asked honestly with unusually sad eyes. "Anything at all?"

...

...

"There... is..." Pyrhha said in a small voice as she looked down at the floor.

"NO!" Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "You're not gonna take up the offer just because-"

"Because what Jaune?!" Pyrhha yelled back, tears streaming out of her seemingly dry emerald eyes once more, tainting the dry black masscara cascading down her cheeks yet again. "Beacon is gonna fall! People are gonna die if I don't do anything! I don't have a choice!"

"YOU DO!" Jaune shouted in anger. "Remember what Louis said! Don't do this just because other people tells you to! Do this as you! As Pyrhha Nikos! Deep down, you really don't want to do it."

"I've made my choice." She muttered under ragged breaths, chest heaving up and down in despair. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch as I let my friends die."

Everybody just stared at her, some biting their bottom lip as they tried to think of another way out.

...

...

"Even if it means you'll die?" Jaune hissed through his teeth. "Even if it means leaving me alone? If it means leaving us," He gestured towards the whole room, where both teams are looking longingly into her eyes. "alone?"

"..." Phyrra didn't answer. She couldn't, knowing Jaune's words was right.

She really don't want to leave them. She doesn't know who she'll be if she merges with Amber's aura, what that'll do to her, or what other risks it provided.

And that's providing the blasted machine works.

Ozpin said it himself... This was the only time, the first of all it's cases, where half the maiden's powers were stolen by unclear means.

The only solution being to preserve a coma induced maiden in a disguise of a school, filled with trained hunstman and huntresses.

...

"Pyrhha." Yang grabbed her shoulder from behind, sat on the edge of the bottom bunk, causing her to look behind her. "As much as I despise Louis right now, he's right. You don't have to do this."

"And what?" She cried, flinging her hands up in the air in defeat as they came to a complete standstill. The choice seemed so obvious yet nobody but her is willing to accept it. "You'll will?" The plastic smile Yang wore with forlorn eyes was enough of an answer, prompting Pyrhha's emerald eyes widen.

"You can't!" She gasped, putting both hands to her mouth in shock.

"Yang no!" Ruby wrapped her arms around her sister's waist, and started to flail her hands. "There must be something else, another way out!"

"I've raised you long enough for you to take care of yourself Ruby." Yang sighed as she ruffled her hair. "If I'm going out, I'll go out with a Yang."

The bad pun went ignored as the red hooded leader continued to beat her hands into her chest.

"Yang you stupid idiot!" She yelled. "We lost Summer! How do you think dad would react if he lost you too?! I should be the one to do it!"

"You don't think we're just gonna stand by and let that happen do you?" Weiss scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Let's all just calm down." Blake sighed as she held out her hands. "It's not like Ozpin's gonna just let anybody in that tube anyways." She pointed out, causing everybody to shut up before all hell breaks loose. "If he's the one guarding the chamber, unless you can somehow convince him without him getting suspicious that you were the ones with the other half of the maiden's powers, then there's no way you could get past him to replace Pyrhha."

_But the assailants could._ Everybody thought in their minds as most of them nibbled on their lower lip in utter nervousness.

"Blake's right." Jaune held out both hands. "Let's all just calm down. Nobody is gonna do it. Not on our watch."

"The clock's ticking." Yang said as she looked over to the wall clock that says its half past seven. "Singles are bound to happen soon. We're gonna have to make a decision, and fast."

"What about Louis?" Weiss asked.

"What about him?" Yang snarled, still unable to forgive the fact that he never disclosed all this information to them.

"I mean, isn't he supposed to be our finalist?" Weiss re-emphasized her true intention.

...

"I'll talk to Ozpin about it." Yang sighed. "See if he could change his mind, maybe bend the rules a little."

_Later..._

_Yang's POV_

"I do not seem to understand Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin stated as he put his mug down. "Why would you want to take over Mr Louis's place in the singles round?"

"I think I'm better suited for the single rounds compared to him." She flung her frilly, golden locks behind her shoulder with one hand, attempting to wear a cheerful smile, though with the thoughts swirling in her head, she hoped she could fake it good enough without her eyes turning crimson. "After all, I am the strongest member of team RWBY."

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Glynda asked, fixing her specs so that it sits right at her nose ridge. "You know the rules, Miss Xiao Long. Only someone from the doubles round gets to advance into the singles. If you wanted to be in the singles round, you should had placed yourself partnered up with Miss Schnee."

"I don't work well with Weiss." She lied. "And Louis isn't feeling well enough to fight. Said he felt fever... ish this morning?"

"He got sick?" Glynda asked, and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.

"Eeyup."

"Conviniently caught it this morning, right before the final rounds?"

"Sums it up." Yang shrugged nonchalantly. "So I want to take his place to work my way to secure Team RWBY it's victory."

Ozpin and Glynda looked at each other for a few minutes, and Yang prayed that they didn't see right through her bullshit.

_This way... Maybe Ozpin would reconsider for me to be the maiden..._

_If I win... that's proof enough..._

_Right?_

"Very well Miss Xiao Long, we will consider your proposition. Please stand by while we input your name into the Amity System." Ozpin said as he picked up his coffee mug, and lifted it to his mouth.

"Thank you," Yang bowed. " I won't let you down Professor Ozpin!"

"Don't you mean your team?" Ozpin questioned, the mug halting right before it touched his lips. "I have nothing to benefit from your hard work and training. If anything, you should thank Miss Goodwitch here." He gestured toward the woman in question. "For giving you combat lessons, tips and tricks."

Yang winced.

"Y-yeah! I meant... I won't let my team down!" She corrected as she hurried over to the open elevator and frantically tapped on the close button.

"Also, Thank you miss Goodwitch!" She bowed again as the elevator doors dinged shut, and descended down to meet with the two teams waiting below.

_Pyrhha's POV_

Pyrhha wasn't sure at which point in time in her life that she's got claustrophobia, but right now Team RWBY and JNPR huddled around her wherever she goes, she's definitely feeling more then a little of it now.

"Guys! I won't run off and do anything stupid, please!" She wailed, being currently crushed between Jaune and Nora.

"And how can we be so sure?" Jaune scoffed, eyes darting around at the students that so much as looked at them funny. "You seemed so determined back in the room that you'd be the one to inherit them. "If you think I'm gonna be letting you out of my sights... You have another thing coming."

Usually that'd make her happy, to know that her boyfriend is paying so much attention to her, and her friends love her and care for her well being... but this?

"Pyrhha, if we're going to be facing this, it's as a team." Nora snorted. "You're not doing this alone."

This just sucked...

She felt helpless... especially when they are all high on alert, just a wave of body guards forming a shell around her to protect her from non existent harm.

...

Then again, they're doing this for what they think is best.

Besides, if they stick together, Dwiki's prediction of her dying couldn't come true... could it?

...

No...

What would take place could be so much worse.

Not even Ozpin could defeat the ones after the Maiden's powers. How could they, first years, afford to?

The realization struck like a truck, causing her to whimper and shake uncontrollably.

They can't.

They have absolutely no chance in winning this.

She could either die for them, or... They would all die for her.

"Guys..." She muttered. "If I don't do this, you'd all-"

"We don't know that." Ruby said, being the only one who sounded hopeful. "We don't know what's gonna happen yet."

Biting her lower lip, Pyrhha, she let out a fustrated sigh as she settled on a frown, stopping in her tracks, somehow slipping out of the group as they advanced.

"Pyr?" Jaune asked, frantically turning around once he realized his girlfriend was no longer beside him.

"Pyrhha?" Ruby looked behind her.

"Do you believe... in destiny?" She asked.

_Louis's POV_

_Well... it couldn't get any worse then it already is, could it? _I sighed internally as I walked into the weapon's locker rooms. _Just gotta beat the singles round and-_

_Bump_

"Excuse me, I-"

My heart stopped.

Frilly golden locks brushed upon my cheeks as the figure I bumped into tilted her head slightly upwards.

Lilac orbs met brown.

I just had to jinx it.

"Hi Yang." I greeted as calmly as I could, in contrary to the adrenaline starting to pump through my veins, sending me on edge as if expecting another punch to the naval.

Not that I was gonna defend it, but I couldn't help prepare for it.

She broke eye contact, pushing past my shoulder to look around for anybody else within the area, before she grabbed my collar and dragged me inside and placed me on an empty bench.

...

...

"Well?" She asked, arms crossed with her back against a locker, though her eyes was still somehow lilac.

"Well...?" I echoed after her, wracking my brain of stuff I missed.

With an annoyed sigh, Yang leant back on a locker and lifted one foot, propping it on another beside it, impatiently staring toy my eyes.

"You said we could talk about Ruby. Do you really love her?"

"And I thought I made it clear." I pointed out as I gripped the bench till my knuckles ran white. "I have no qualms talking about her, when the tournament is over."

"Well, it is now." She sneered. "For you that is."

"What do you mean?" I looked up to match her lilac eyes once more, a confused expression making it's way to my face. "I still have one more round to-"

"No." She waved off. "No you don't."

_Evans's POV_

_Okay..._

_Time to do this._ I thought, stretching my limbs.

_"Would Miss Yang Xiao Long please come up on stage for the singles round?"_ Port's voice echoed throughout the whole stadium.

_What the - ?_

"I thought I was supposed to be facing Louis?" I asked as my body froze in its tracks.

"We got an announcement about an hour ago that Mr Louis isn't feeling well." I looked up towards the screen and saw Port explaining as his moustache twitched every now and then.

"_A shame that we couldn't proceed as our original plans, however, I think Miss Xiao Long would make an excellent opponent._" Oobleck said, attempting to cheer me up. _"Everyone deserves a challenge, don't you think?"_

_Shit..._

_This is not good._

_Not good at all..._

_ Louis's POV_

"_Would Miss Yang Xiao Long please come up on stage for the singles round?"_ Port's voice echoed throughout the whole stadium, locker rooms included.

"Yang... what have you done?"

"I did what any sane person would." She snickered as she bounced off the row of lockers and headed towards the doors. "You're not going anywhere."

"What are you doing Yang?!" I asked her as I shot up, a bit louder then I probably should have.

"Taking matters into my own hands." Yang shot back, not even bothering to face me as she started to walk away.

I lunged after her to grab her shoulder.

_Idiot!_

_If she steps out that door, she's gonna hurt an innocent!_

Mercury might've been unhurt due to his metal legs, and there's no guarantee they're not gonna pull off the same thing, especially with their initial plans being ruined.

"Yang-"

A giant hook then made it's way to my face as Yang turned 180, eyes crimson as I slammed into the lockers, causing a permanent depression to embed itself into the row of lockers.

"Don't touch me." She growled, and stormed towards the doors once more.

"Yang!" I chased after her, somehow finding my second wind and managing to grab her shoulder once more.

"I said don't tou- Mppphffl!"

My body reacted before I could.

Before I knew it, my lips were already crashing down on hers mid sentence, causing crimson eyes to revert back to lilac and widened as her body froze. She regretted her attempt to retaliate almost immediately as I further deepened the kiss, my tounge slipping in as she attempted to talk, causing ripples of air waves into my throat.

"W-whaa..." Her cheeks went ablaze as she pulled back, holding a hand to her lips. "W-why... di...d... you...?"

Before she could go further, she faltered away as her shoulders sagged, and before she could fall painfully on her knees, I caught her, and hefted an arm around my shoulder.

"I hope Adrian gave me the correct dosage... " I muttered as I pulled a syringe from the side of her neck with a quick jerk, and set her inside a locker that contained a certain compacted scarlet coloured high caliber rifle in it, and set her back against it's inner walls.

"Forgive me for this..." I mumbled under my breath, before wrapping my Adidas jacket around her. "But I can't stand to see you hurt..." I stood up, closing the door with a soft click as it locked itself.

"They're not taking away your light. Not now... " I turned and grabbed the door handle "And not ever again."

_Later..._

_Cinder's POV_

"How long do we have to wait?!" One asked from the crowds.

"It's been 10 minutes!" Another shouted.

"_It's been well over 10 minutes, if Miss Xiao Long wouldn't show, then we'll have to declare Mr Evans the winner._" Port whispered, accidentally emitted through his mic, as the screen showed him putting a hand over his mic, though little good it did as his voice carried through the whole stadium anyways.

Port scowled, frustrated, causing his mustache to twitch angrily.

"**BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**"

The crowd booed angrily all around the stadium, with Evans being right at the epicenter of it all. The complaints grew louder and louder as it bounce off the walls of the stadium, causing a sly smirk to form on Cinder's face.

However, Evans just stood there, calm and at ease.

"You think this is part of his plan?" Mercury raised his brow.

"It could be." Cinder said. "Even I didn't think to build up negativity by denying the mass's expectations."

_He's smarter then he looks..._

"_We apologize for the inconvenience, but Mr Evans is the winn-_"

"_What's this?!_" Oobleck reacted faster then lightning as he swiped the mic and yelled into it.

The camera then panned to the other side of the stage, where a man wearing a simple red T shirt and light blue jeans, whose hair was combed to the side, climbed the stage.

A chorus of loud gasps made it's way to Cinder's ears from seats not too far away, though she was too distracted to hone in on who it was.

"Mr Louis?!" Port shouted. "You aren't supposed to be here, Miss Xiao Long specifically said you aren't feeling well, and-"

"I'm feeling all better now." Louis said, waving to the crowd. "Sorry for the delay everyone." He apologized as he addressed the crowd, causing a wave of silence to wash over the crowd.

That didn't last long, because as Louis extended both blades from Obsidian Nova, a subtle clap could be heard from the other side of the stage.

Soon, a small crowd began clapping, and then, another group started to cheer.

It's effects was infectious, and soon, the whole stadium erupted in its former glory of hyped excitement.

"And here I thought you weren't gonna show." Evans mocked with a cocky smile.

"Did you set this match up?" Emerald raised her brow. "Seems a bit odd that the two of them got paired up against each other."

"No." Cinder said with wide eyes. "There isn't a point in doing so."

"Well, what do you think he plans to do?" Mercury questioned.

"I think we'll just have to wait and see." Cinder made sure to kept her eyes focused on the middle of the stage, where the two seers stood facing each other. "It's not a good thing to spoil a surprise, and besides, if this doesn't go as promised..."

"Ready?" Port announced, gaining cheers instead of the prior dissing reaction from the crowd. "Fight!"

"The Invincible girl... Is next."

**A/N**

**Stuff and things are happening, and finally, advanced to doomsday.**

**What to do... what to do.**

**For those of you who haven't yet, if you like this fic, be sure to Fav and Follow! Leave a review down below for your thoughts. It's what keeps me writing this fic after all.**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N**

**Over 20k views, passed the 100 Follows mark at 104 now, and 83 Favs! That's a big milestone reached, even though it isn't a huge or big by any means, nevertheless, it's still one. so thank you, to everbody who's been supporting this fic!**

_Ruby's POV_

Ruby having had split off from the group, is currently wandering restlessly, pacing back and forth at the almost empty courtyard of Beacon, with the only exceptions being a few second year couples that decided to enjoy some personal time on the benches, along with a few spectators that decided to have a bit of a tranquil time between matches, unaware of the collateral danger that was about to happen sooner rather then later.

Ruby had no such opportunity.

She was drowning in panicked thoughts as more questions started to pop into her head then answers.

_What should I do..._

_It's all a mess..._

_I told Louis that I'll put a stop to this somehow but..._

_Where do I even start?_

_Now everybody wants to become the maiden to replace Pyrhha..._

_Not that I wouldn't do that in a heartbeat but..._

_The only risk being that I might not come out as the same person._

_Why would Professor Ozpin keep this a secret from the world?_

_..._

_Oh right..._

Phyrra said it herself...

_It will cause mass panic, and then..._

_Grimm._

_Who's gonna make Beacon fall?_

_Why would they want to make Beacon fall?_

_Is it really worth sacrificing so many people, just for the sake of this 'power'?_

_We don't have much time left..._

_Now Yang's gonna participate in the finals instead of Louis and-_

_Wait a minute..._

_If she wins..._

_..._

_Is she trying to get picked as a maiden?_

_I'm such an idiot!_

_How did I let that slip through?!_

_Out of anybody I should've known! Yang's as stubborn as an Ursa when she's made up her mind!_

_No no no no!_

_Wait..._

_Did Louis knew this would happen?_

_Is that why he didn't wanna tell us in the first place?_

_What do I do?_

_Oh Louis, I wish you'd be here to tell us more... _

_Tell us what I should do..._

_..._

_Nevermind that now..._

_It doesn't matter, I have to get to Yang before it's too lat-_

"Oof!"

Ruby fell down with a soft thump as she landed on her rear.

"Owww..." She groaned, rubbing her head.

"Ruby?" A sillouethe of a ginger haired girl called out from somewhere above her, extending both arms to help Ruby up.

_That voice..._

"Penny?"

"Hello Ruby!" Penny greeted cheerfully as she encased the red hooded leader in a bone breaking hug.

_What are you doing this for? You know she's gonna die anyways right?_

_Penny's gonna die, get torn into shreds, you killed her by the way, and- MPH!_

"H-hey... Penny." Ruby trembled and smiled weakly as the acursed words whispered in her mind, reminding her of the inevitable, causing her to wince and yelp.

"My sensors are indicating a spike in the rate of your hearbeat and adrenaline levels. Are you alright? Did that fall perhaps hit a major artery? I shall contact the medical staff immdiatel-"

"I... I'm fine Penny." Ruby lied. "It's just... I'm just... a little lost..."

"Lost?" Penny looked around. "I have a built in navigator to guide your way back to Beacon if you-"

"No, no. Not that kind of lost." Ruby managed a weak and bitter chuckle at Penny, before looking on the ground, looking forlorn once more. "I'm just... " She sighed. "I don't know anymore..."

"My sensors are indicating an increase in stress levels and an unusual lack in blood sugar. This is common in most adults, escpecially General Ironwood, but last I scanned you, you had at least 3 times the amount. Friend Ruby, what is the matter?"

_Right... We haven't had anything to eat since last night..._

Nobody had the appetite.

_Wait a minute... she scans my internals every time we meet?_

_That's... not disturbing to know... at all..._

"I-it's just..." She opened her mouth to explain but no words came out. "It's complicated." She finally said after some thought.

"Would you like to discuss this problem?" Penny asked, causing Ruby to peer into her lime green eyes that has a tinge of concern, though her expression was still as unreadable as ever, escpecially with that iconic, friendly smile that spread on her face. "Father always said that frustration is better shared among people rather then keeping it pent in."

"No Penny I... I'm just not sure on what to do..."

"About?"

"..."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Penny attempted to paraphrase and get Ruby to open up as she put an arm on Ruby's shoulder, hoping the outcome would be the latter.

"I know I am still learning to 'Blend in'." Penny said, finger's jerking stiffly back and forth as she did air quotations. "But something seems to be bothering you, and your circulatory systems. I may not be a normal meat person like you Ruby, but I know that is not be a good thing."

"Penny, we've been through this." Ruby sighed as she pinched her nose ridge. She had more then enough problems in her hands right now and the last thing she needed was another. "You're a normal girl, just like us, just like me..."

"I apologize Ruby, but the only ones who seem to think so are you, father, Evans and Louis."

"No Penny, I'm sure Weiss, Blake and Yang sees you as human when I explain it to them." Ruby sighed again as she looked up towards the skies. "You are human Penny, you shouldn't think otherwis-

Wait..."

"Hm?" Penny perked up, thinking that may have worked. "Sensors are indicating that your heart rate is stabilizing, and an increase in brain activity. Is this what they call curiosity?"

"I know you met Louis at the docks the same time we met Sun but... when did you meet Evans?"

"I... I do not know such a meat person." Penny said, unable to meet Ruby's eyes.

Penny hiccuped.

"You just said-"

"I do not know what you are talking about, friend Ruby."

She hiccuped again.

"I must take my leave now. Goodbye Ruby."

She hiccuped a third time as she turned around.

"Penny wait!" Ruby shouted as she reached out to grab Penny by her arm, and spun her around to look at her straight in the eye. Silver orbs pierced lime green as Ruby's grip tightened around her shoulders and let out a long and heavy sigh.

"Penny please. I'm tired..."

"My sensors are indicating an increase in fatigue, you are correct. Friend Ruby you should really get some res-"

"Not that kind of tired." Ruby let out an exhausted puff of air, but maintained eye contact with the android.

"Penny," Ruby wore a look of hard determination that didn't look like it was faltering any time soon. "Please, I'm tired... of being kept in the dark. First it was Blake and the White Fang, then Louis and his friends. I know they have their reasons for doing this, but it's not fair! We were a team. We already lost Blake once, a-and now we lost Louis, so please..."

Ruby couldn't help it.

All of this...

It was too much.

The glistening in her eyes became waterworks as the tears overflowed, cascading down the side of her cheek as she drew Penny in for a tight hug.

"I don't wanna lose you too..." She sobbed in Penny's shoulder, causing tear stains to soak her clothing.

"Ru...by... I..." Penny stammered with wide eyes. Her eyes then honed in on the shaking girl within her grasp, profusely sobbing into her shoulder as she gently put her hand on Ruby's back. Some passer bys stared at them while others respect the personal space and decided to ignore them entirely.

...

...

"Okay." She said at last as she dragged Ruby off into a corner, where the two could discuss with some form of privacy. "But I cannot go against my directives, it would immidiately alert Father or General Ironwood through automatic radio wave signals. I could only give you, what I believe you would say, is 'The gust of it.' or 'The tip of the large chunk of frozen H20'."

"Oh Penny." Ruby managed a small smile manage to break through the look of distraught she had just moments ago as Penny beamed back. "Its 'the gist of it', and 'The tip of the iceberg'. And that would be more then enough right now. Thank you..." Ruby sniffled as she wiped a tear from her left eye with the palm of her hands.

"Sensational, give me a few microseconds and I shall have my records updated."

She craned her neck upwards, eyes glowing bright green for a split second, before she let out a small sigh.

"Now, where were we?" Penny asked as she put a finger up to her cheek.

"You were about to tell me about how you knew Evans."

"Right, about friend Evans..."

Later...

"WHAT IS LOUIS DOING IN THERE?!" Weiss shrieked atop of her lungs as she shot up to her legs. "WHERE'S YANG?!"

"This can't be happening..." Blake muttered under her breath with her eyes almost jutting out of it's sockets in horror. "Can it?"

"Yang...?" Ruby staggered back to her seat.

_What is going on?!_

_This cannot be happening..._

_Where's Yang?_

_Louis's POV_

_"Ready?"_ Port's voice echoed throughout the stadium.

_"Fight!"_

_..._

"How many times have we fought?" Evans exhaled as he fished out his pockets for White Knuckle Ride, cracking his knuckles and working some kinks out of his neck before sliding his weapons on into a more comfortable position.

"Hard to say." I shrugged as I extended the crimson blades of Obsidian Nova. "It's the only memory of us I have since we're kids."

"Well well..." With a smirk, he leapt high up into the air as he pulled a fist back, and skyrocketed downwards with one arm outstretched. My quick thinking allowed me to leap backwards and land a good distance away as the ground erupted with a small crater replacing me where I'd just stood. "That... was a long time ago."

"Hah..." I smirked as I skidded to a crouch a good 15 meters away. Without giving him time to recover, I immediately closed my distance between us, and, with a powerful overhead swing slamming it's way down, forced him to block lest he wants his aura to take massive damage.

Evans crossed both arms above his head, mitigating the damage by interlocking my blades in between his 2nd and 3rd spike. The point of contact screamed with an ear piercing rasp and started to emit sparks as I put my weight to try and force Evans to his knees from what seems to look like, an impasse.

"Looks like you were young once too." I said as he dropped down to one knee. "As much as I want to hear that story, I think it's about time-"

"I get a little motivated!" He basically shouted as he stepped to the side and forced my blades down, causing one of my blades to embed itself a good feet or two deep to the stadium ground as the other slammed into the former, had it not been made of projection type dust, it would have cut it's twin. A follow up uppercut to the chin had me flying backwards a good 10 meters away, causing me to let go of my weapons which fell with a loud clatter.

Shift

"Motivated?" Weiss hissed through grit teeth as she shot up, still not compeltely pleased by the fact that things didn't go as planned, that Yang isn't taking this fight instead.

"They're not even close to knocking each other out. What is he talking about?" Ruby said, just as puzzled as Weiss is.

"They... fought as kids?" Blake questioned with a raised brow. "The only memory being fighting? But that makes no sense... They were so close, all the time."

The three members then looked towards the monitors to see that both aura's are more or less around the 85% mark, even though Louis was a tad bit lower, both were still green and good to go.

"A bluff?" Blake asked. "An act?"

"I don't think so..." Ruby bit her lip as her silver orbs snapped to the fight once more.

"I just hope they get this over with." The heiress snarled as her chest rose and fell in frustration. "The faster they finish this fight the faster Pyrhha gets her fight. Then we could stick to Team JNPR, making it the best chance we have in getting Pyrhha to safety."

"Speaking of which, where are they?" Ruby asked.

"Safe." Blake answered for her in the stead of the heiress, who was fuming with rage.

Blake then pointed a few rows in front of them, where a certain red haired champion's hair stuck out beside blonde, who was sat next to it.

A few seats away, ginger hair poked out, and behind her, black with a single strand of pink lock.

"I really hope Pyrhha knows what she's doing..." Ruby mumbled.

"I'm sure she does." Blake reassured.

_Shift_

Louis rubbed his jaw as he got up, in time to see Evans on his left throwing a meaty hook that is rapidly advancing towards his face.

Without a second thought, Louis ducked underneath, and lifted at Evans with by shoulder, hoisting Evans up before slamming him down to the floor with his forearm.

That was when the friendliness ended as Louis glowered.

"You are not the first opponent sent to defeat me." Louis frowned as he walked up to give his blades a quick jerk and reclaim them. "And you will not be the last."

"You were born to come to the Vytal festival... the den of your enemies." Evans said as he dusted himself off, throwing his weapons into the air and mecha shifting his knuckle dusters into revolvers, and started to fire a couple of shots in Louis's direction, causing him to raise his blades to prepare for the barrage of bullets about to be unleashed.

"This was once my throne... did your masters not tell you who I was?!" Louis growled as he deflected the hailstorm of bullets, Obsidian Nova slashing the air, and rapidly shearing through brass and metal.

"I know who you are..." Evans snarled, his previous friendly smirk replaced by a somewhat neutral, but at the same time, fearsome growl. "Hanzo."

_Blake's POV_

"Oh, so now Louis isn't even his real name!" Weiss hissed and threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "More lies! Why am I even surprised?!"

_"I know you'll start to come here every year on the same day." _Evans's voice hummed through the speakers, aiming towards the whole stadium. _"You risk so much to honor someone you murdered!"_

That caused the crowds to fall into silence

"A... killer?" Someone gasped from somewhere to her left, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.

"Hey... what's going on?" Another whispered.

"A student of Beacon... a murderer?!"

A rouse of whispers echoed from group to mass in seconds, setting off a huge chain reaction amongst the audience.

_"Mr Evans, I would recommend you do not accuse Mr Louis of such actions."_ Port's voice boomed at the arena. The screens showed that his mustache was twitching violently and his brows were furrowed towards the gap between his eyes.

_"Is it really,"_ Evans ducked from an overhead swing thrown by Louis. _"Accusatory if it's."_ A low kick sweeped Louis off his feet. _"True?"_

Some look stressed and distraught, others downright confused.

_"You know nothing of what happened!" _Louis countered as he threw an air slash vertically to try and cut Evans in half, who lurched sideways to dodge as the ground tore up and the wave hit the forcefield.

_No..._

_I refuse to believe that..._

"And a murderer too. Great!" Weiss gave up as she dropped down to her seat with a loud thump. "I'm learning something new every day."

"Louis wouldn't-" Blake tried, only to get cut off by a heiress who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Blake, I don't know anymore." Weiss grabbed her head and looked at the fight in agony, writhing around for a bit as if shaking off the bad headache it's giving her. "What's real and what isn't... I'm not sure anymore."

_There is no way someone like Louis would kill anybody..._

_..._

_Right?_

_"I know you tell yourself that your sister disobeyed your plan..." Evans mocked as he leapt high up once more. "And that you have to kill her to maintain order... that it was your duty."_

_Sis...ter?_

_Louis POV_

"It was my duty..." I said as I staggered to get up, wiping some sweat off my chin. "and my burden."

"That does not mean... I do not honor her!" I sprinted at him once more to attempt and close the distance between us. Both blades flicked backwards and into a reverse strike as I slashed from both the left and right sides, causing Evans to multitask as his eyes locked to mine.

"You think you honor your sister Yang with incense offerings?" Evans asked from underneath as he struggled to break free, the ground shattering underneath him, causing the both of us to hiss out breaths out through clenched teeth. "Honor resides in one's actions."

Weiss's POV

"Wait WHAT?!" Weiss shrieked as she shot up to her feet.

_"You dare to lecture me about honor?! You are not worthy, to say her name!" Louis shouted back. _

"Yang?" Ruby looked down in horror with her mouth agape. "She's... dead?"

_"Stop the camera's from rolling, now!"_ Oobleck's voice boomed through the stadium. _"And have someone check on Miss Xiao Long whereabouts for me!"_

_Louis..._

_What have you done?!_

"I'll go search for her!" Weiss said as she got up, only for her hand to get caught by something.

No,

Not something, someone.

"Blake... what are you doing?!" Weiss screeched as she tugged her arms in an attempt to break free. "We have to go look for her... now!"

"Weiss calm down." Blake's amber eyes pleaded as they met her icy cold glare. "We can't cause a panic here."

"Calm down?! How can I-!"

"Weiss," Blake said. "Think about it, he wont-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Weiss tried to yank her arm free once more, but the cat faunus is far stronger then she looks, the vice grip clenching even tighter, and dragged Weiss back to her seat. "You're her partner! How could you?!"

"Okay." Blake sighed. "If we want to do a search, we should do it... together, as a team."

"You guys go if you want to, but I'm staying." Ruby said in a whisper.

"Ruby!" Weiss's mouth slackjawed in disbelief. "Yang's your sister! She could very well be de-!"

"I know Weiss!" Ruby shouted back. "She is stubborn, hot headed and short tempered. She's the strongest fighter we know, yet, she could be dead in the hands of the White Fang, that pink and brown girl we fought at the train, or even Roman Torchwick...

But not... in the hands of Louis."

...

"Are you sure about this?" Weiss let out an explosive and defeated sigh, before crawling back to her seat.

...

"Yes." Ruby said with a small and firm nod.

_Cinder's POV_

"Impressive." Cinder couldn't help the evil grin that spread across her features from ear to ear.

"What is?" Mercury dared to question with a raised brow as he glanced over from the fight.

"He killed his teammate that was supposed to take his place. Getting rid of obstacles along the way."

"So what? He killed someone... big deal." Emerald scowled, crossing her arms. "Both me and Mercury have killed plenty in our time."

"That is what you don't get Emerald dearest." Cinder's eyes flicked to her with a malicious smirk, causing her to wince, before it snapped right back to the fight. "The amount of people you've killed means nothing."

Emerald's mouth trembled to open in an attempt to ask, but Cinder beat her to it.

"The first kill is always the biggest hurdle." Cinder explained slowly, as if talking to a child. "Right after they get through that, they'll start to crave for more. The next hundred kills are paperweight. It's not the matter of how many, but instead, who they choose to assassinate, and what bond they'd shared. Yang Xiao Long is both an impressive brawler and I believe, is a close friend to our dear little seer. Doing such a thing was no easy feat, and proves, that there never was a string attached."

Mercury came up with a question of his own. "How about Leo? He pretty much sent the best of the best to their deaths, and-"

"To survive." Cinder cut off. "There's a clear difference between the two. Louis did it on his own free will. There was nothing to gain from killing her, only losses. His team would hate him, the whole world would be after his head, especially with our dear General watching. Evans was the one who approached us to join our side, willingly as well. If he wanted something to prove, he would have been the one who kills Xiao Long, not Louis."

_Marvelous..._

_Just exquisite._

_Very impressive indeed._ Cinder thought, putting a hand to her chin. _No remorse, and by the looks of it, no regrets either._

...

...

_Okay, you piqued my interest._

"Do it."

"Ma'am?" Emerald asked with a puzzled look.

"Finish him off."

"Who?"

"Evans," Cinder waved off, closing her eyes in pre apocalyptic bliss, the sinister smirk making it's way from ear to ear. After a moment of thought, her hand stopped mid air as she sought to reconsider. "or maybe even Louis if you could, it doesn't matter."

"B-but Evans was the one who approached us, shouldn't we wait for him to prove his wort-"

"Are you starting to have feelings for him?" Cinder raised her brow, causing Emerald to wince even though her cheeks darkened a little as she forced her stared to the hard floor.

"Not at all m-ma'am," Emerald said more in fear then embarrassment. "But I think we should wait and see what he can do. Evans did promise us that he will make Beacon fall. Why do any work at all if he could do it for us?"

Mercury looked like he was holding in a smirk, if Cinder wasn't in such a mood that'll turn 180 should things go south, he might have even roared with laughter.

If only the risk didn't involve both their deaths.

"We don't need him anymore." Cinder explained to Emerald as her eyes gleamed with malicious glee as her gaze roamed to the fight once more. "I don't know what plans he has in mind, but there is no way one man can cause something massive to trigger the fall."

"As I've said before, dear Emerald, we shouldn't rely on him at all. With the whole world watching, especially with the perfect setup to get the crowd erratic and at unease, the buildup these two had given us, a death would be more then enough to set it off. There won't be another golden opportunity like this. Do this, and I'll consider forgiving you, since things should be back on track in no time." Cinder cackled.

"Y-yes... Ma'am." Emerald hesitatingly agreed as her eyes honed in to the two tiny dots, duking it out in the middle of the cylindrical stage.

Cinder got off the walls, and walked off with a sinister smile.

_Louis's POV_

"I don't care who thinks I'm right. And I've got cause enough for killing you." Evans said, whilst crashing both knuckle dusters into one another, causing a ball of electrical energy to spread out in a spherical motion and causing me to retreat a few feet backwards.

"Wh-?

Oh good. Why that's very good. Yes... I'd like that." I answered as I pointed an outstretched blade towards him.

"Don't interfere." Evans shouted aloud, planting his feet to a hunched stance, squaring his shoulders.

"This is between us." I shouted as well, getting the crowd to erupt in a wave of murmurs.

"And it ends here." Evans held up both hands, rings glowing fiercely azure as the brass knuckles sparked and flickered to life.

My gazed flicked to the monitors for a split second.

55% on me, and about 38% on Evans.

"Okay." I crouched down into a marathon runner's stance as I extended my arms to both sides, leaving his front wide open as the crimson blades sparked to life, pulsating scarlet dimly in the afternoon sun. "Let's dance."

No other words were exchanged between us, as I charged straight ahead, with no attempt from Evans to dodge.

He reeled one fist back, prepared to exchange my blow with his, expecting a huge feedback.

And at that moment, my vision blurred for a split second, before Evans multiplied into 3, and mecha shifted his knuckle dusters into revolvers, and aimed all 6 at my direction, fingers on the trigger.

_..._

_Goodbye..._

_Old friend._

_Ruby's POV_

His shoulders slumped as the light faded out of his eyes, a betrayed expression being the last emotion he ever wore as the lifeless body dropped in slow motion to the floor. The only thing she could hear was the loud gasps emerging from the crowds as everybody's attention gathered to the middle of the bout.

Her eyes widened in fear, her fists clenches till her knuckles ran white gripping the seats and she felt her mouth open to scream out his name, even as Blake and Weiss attempted to hold her back, she lurched forward and screamed on top of her lungs.

"LOOOOOOOOOUUUUIISSSS!"

_Evans's POV_

As Louis lay there dead with his back facing up, I looked up with a cocky smile forming on my face.

"Cut the feeds!" Oobleck yelled in a panicked flurry. "What do you mean you can't?!"

That was when the screens flared red, and a black chess piece of a queen appeared on every monitor.

"Is this not what you are here for?!" I screamed, holding out both my hands as I addressed the audience. Tens of thousands of people, mostly sillouethes behind the bright light filling my eyes. "Are you not entertained?!"

"Stand down!" Ironwood shouted as he, and a few soldiers rushed towards the stage just a tad bit too late. "Evans, you are under arrest."

"I don't think so General." I smirked as I crossed my arms, the rings flickering blue as static started to form on the palms of my hands. "Raging... " An enormous torrent of azure jutted out from the ground, spinning into a tornado of twisted sparks and jolting voltage as it reached high up into the air, expanding over a vast expanse at a rapid pace as I continued to channel my palms into the ground. "STORM!"

"Star Dust?! So it wasn't just Louis after all?!" Ironwood cursed through grit teeth as he held out his non robotic arm, his latter limp as it short circuited.

The soldiers held their head in pain as malfunctioning screeching filled their ears, most dropping down to the floor screaming.

_THUMP_

I looked up, and a twisted smile crept up on my face as I saw the Giant Nevermore pecking it's way through the barricades.

"Neo, if you would."

In a flash, Neo appeared in her usual white suit with pink and brown hair, making her appearence behind me with her signature cocky smirk that matched mine.

"Open fire!" General Ironwood commanded as more soldiers made their way down and aimed directly at me. Right as they squeezed the trigger, I lurched forward as the world spun folded around me, and a nauseating feeling took over, like vertigo.

_A few minutes later..._

_Blake's POV_

_No..._

"This can't be happening." Blake muttered under her breath with wide eyes. "Louis... no..."

_How..._

_How did his aura go from 55% to 0% in an instant? _

"Is he... gone?" Weiss asked as she broke down on her knees, eyes blank of any emotion, honed in on the lifeless corpse that lay in the middle of the stadium.

"LOUIS!" Ruby yelled as she burst into rose petals, making her way to his side as she tried to shake him awake.

"RUBY! Get back, it's dangerous!" Weiss yelled.

"I got her!" Jaune yelled as he leapt down onto the stage.

"Louis wake up!" Ruby said as she tried to shake him awake. "Please, wake up!"

"Young lady, I'm gonna have to ask you to step away." A tall, pudgy looking paramedic said as he laid a stretcher down next to him. Next to him, a second paramedic arrived shortly after, a short woman with shoulder length hair tied into a bun and mint green eyes.

"I'm not leaving him!" Ruby said defensively as she held out both arms.

"Ruby! Don't be stubborn." Jaune said, eyes nervously flicking up to see the Nevermore pecking away at the barrier. "Let them take him."

"No!"

"Ugh... forgive me for this." Jaune said as he formed a link around Ruby's naval, dragging her back and preventing her from getting closer to him.

"Jaune, what are you?!"

"Thank you for your cooperation." The male paramedic said, carrying him out with haste.

"He's gone Ruby!" Jaune shouted.

"No! He's not! I refuse to-"

"Ruby!" Weiss yellled from the seats.

"Guys! The Nevermore, it's-" Ren warned, as everybody looked up in horror, eyes as wide as dinner plates to see that the barriers... were no more.

_BOOM_

The Nevermore made an enormous shock wave that blasted both Ruby and Jaune off their feet so hard that had Jaune not have his shield extended to cover Ruby, both might have dislocated a joint or two from the sheer force of the impact alone.

"ARGGH!" Jaune cried out in pain as he bounced off a wall, Ruby in his hands as they fell down with a loud plop.

_SQWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK_

**A/N**

_**Hurk**_

_**Cough **_

_**Cough**_

**D-did I just die?!**

**Man oh man did I have to rewrite this a few times due to it being pretty bad to begin with.**

**Decent is decent though. Not perfect, but decent.**


	38. Chapter 38

_Flashback_

_Summer's POV_

Atop a hill overseeing the lush green expanse of a forest, sat two figures under a huge oaken tree, one with a white cloak fluttering lightly in the gentle night breeze, and a certain disheveled blonde brawler huddled up to his knees as he looked longingly into the night.

"Tai..." Summer rubbed his back. "I'm sure she didn't mean to..."

"I know what I've seen, Summer." Tai said, burying his face in his palms as if to hide away the pain. "Raven's gone... and she's not coming back."

"But... why?"

"I don't know..." The brawler answered honestly whilst shaking his head. "One day she came home and acted... weird. The next thing I know I woke up one morning, looked to the side and just like that she's gone."

"Acted weird?" Summer asked with a raised brow as she continued to soothe her teammate by rubbing his back, before perking up at an idea. "I'm sure this isn't about her going into old habits and stealing stuff from the mall or setting Ursa traps in front of doorsteps is it? I mean this is Rae Rae we're talking about."

"Was that meant to cheer me up?" Tai said with a small chuckle as blue orbs finally met silver.

"Maaaybe~" Summer giggled in a teasing tone, getting her friend to give off a small smile of his own. "At least I have a better sense of humor then you do."

That didn't last long, because just as fast as it had formed, it dissipated. "She came home one day and... well, kept talking to herself and being all jumpy. Always muttering alone in solitude, sometimes even locking herself in the guest rooms."

He rubbed at the space between his eyes while thinking long and hard, as if considering the thought of trusting someone once more.

"I was eavesdropping y'know." He said at last in desperation. "Something to do with immortality, the cause we're fighting for and lies and whatnot. Most of it doesn't even make sense, while the rest was just muted by the doors."

_That... doesn't sound like Rae Rae at all._

"Have you tried to talk to her about it?"

"I did... but everytime I so much as grab her shoulder or even call her name she'll jump back in fear, and everytime I approached her, she'll swap topics like it was nothing." Tai sighed. "I... don't know how we could go on like this. Yang's just 2."

"Rae Rae? Fear?" Summer questioned. "Those are... two words I couldn't imagine blending together in a million years."

"I know right?" Tai grumbled angrily, throwing his hands up in the air, before his shoulder's slumped and he looked at the vast expanse of green once more. "I tried to give her some space, some time alone. Told myself that if I ignored it, it'll go away eventually. Well, looks like I got my wish granted to me... I guess."

"Tai, this isn't your fault." Summer sighed. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

"I don't know Summer... I..."

"Tai." Summer grabbed both shoulders as she forced Tai Yang to look into her silver orbs. "It's. Not. Your. Fault." Summer repeated slowly, making sure her friend digests her words. "Rae Rae must've had her own reasons for doing this. I'm sure she'll explain it to us, given time."

"Summer..." Tai muttered as he stared into her silver eyes, not breaking contact for a second.

He lent in, causing Summer's eyes to widen comically as their lips connected. Summer gasped as Tai Yang tilted his head to the side, and proceeded to further deepen the kiss as he wrapped an arm around her back, but made no move to stop it as her shoulders slumped, and closed her eyes to cherish the moment.

In an instant, that moment was shattered as Tai's eyes snapped open, and he reeled back as he scampered to get up.

"I- I'm sorry... I should go. That was a mistake. I shouldn't have-"

He felt something tug his sleeves, promoting him to sit back down.

"No..." Summer said softly with an honest smile, a hand up to touch her glossy lips still full of moisture. "Please, stay."

_Present Day_

_Raven's POV_

"Hmm..." Raven knelt down on some comfortable pillows with a relived sigh after a tiring yet successful day of hunting, an arm extending a small cup towards a very short haired woman, who poured it for her from a hot and steaming teapot, gently blowing it before putting it to her lips, and giving it a light sip.

"Our raiding session came out successful again ma'am." She said, pouring some tea for herself, before kneeling down opposite of where the leader of the Brawnwen tribe sat.

"Vernal." Raven stated sternly, placing her cup on the wooden table. "How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Raven."

"Yes ma- Yes Raven."

"Good." A little tug had Raven smiling as she looked towards her second in command. "Now, what about the raids?"

"Well, we managed to strike the SDC cargo without too much of a hassle, and we managed to snag up almost 3 times the amount of Dust compared to our last raid."

"Good. See to it that Brutus isn't attempting to use it as lubricant to get off." Raven scoffed with a small tug on the side of her face, providing a small, lopsided smile for Vernal to see, prompting her to do the same. "Then, get some rest. We have a village to strike in a few days."

"Yes Raven." Vernal bowed politely before getting up, and then lifted the tarps to make her way out. Raven was sure she wasn't imagining Vernal smiling as she headed out.

...

...

_Raven RUN!_

A frustrated and heavy sigh slipped out of Raven's mouth as she scrunched her eyes shut, her mind conjuring up unwanted memories.

_You can't beat that thing, I'll stay back. Run!_

"Damnit..." She mused as she grabbed the left part of her face.

_Summer, you can't!_

_Qrow, I know what I'm doing, now GO!_

"That day..."

_We're not leaving without you, now come o- WATCH OUT!_

_ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR_

"Why..."

_Raven? RAVEN!_

_Yeaaaargh!_

A fist slammed onto the table, causing it to rattle and shake, before the water in the oriental cups became flat and stable once more.

"Why was she so weak?" Raven growled under her breath.

"Emotions carry weakness... so why...

Why...

did she save me?

Why...

did she save us?"

**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

Her eyes snapped open.

"That was..."

_Impossible..._

"Am I hearing things?

Or have I finally lost my mind?"

_ Or are these flashes from the past just getting worse?_

Another ear piercing roar shook not just the tent she was in, but the land she stood on, causing Raven to shoot up, arm twisting and fingers wrapping around the handle of her weapon in an instant, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking as she trembled while her feet remained rooted to the ground.

"Ma'am!" Vernal rushed in. "It's-!"

"A dragon Grimm..."

"Yes and-"

"Which direction is it heading in?" Raven asked, keeping her eyes to the roof of her tent.

"The direction of Beacon Academy, it just passed overhead but it's- "

"Spewing pools that are summoning Grimm and spawning them everywhere, I know!" Raven snarled, causing Vernal's eyes to widen. "Move our camp, now!"

"Where to?" Vernal asked silently, still surprised at her leader's accurate intuition.

"Mistral."

"And you?" Vernal asked as Raven drew her blade as it rasped away from it's sheath, and weaved the air, causing a distortion in space and time as a crimson portal opened up.

...

"I need to pick my daughter up from school." She said as she looked behind her shoulder, before putting on a white mask, and strolling forwards.

_Shift_

"No..." Ruby muttered as she looked at the blood on the palms of her hands. "No, no NO!"

Grinding her teeth, she charged forwards, only to fall back when Jaune grabbed the back of her hood and pulled it backwards with one swift jerk.

"Jaune, let me go!" Ruby yelled as she desperately yanked her hood back, but Jaune didn't waver and his grip on her hood remained strong. "I need to get to-"

"I know!" Jaune shouted back, eyes widening as a shadow loomed beyond them, causing them to look like ants to the bird of prey.

_SQWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK_

Jaune rolled to the side with Ruby in his arms as the oversized bird impaled it's own beak into the walls of the arena, effectively getting itself stuck and immobilized as it struggled to break free.

"I want to see him as badly as you do." Jaune admitted, eyes darting between his first friend and the gargantuan avian trying to kill them. "But you don't have your weapon with you right now!" He said, staggering to get up as he deployed his shield, Crocea Mors already unsheathed and by his side.

"I'll keep it distracted! Enter your 4 digit codes to summon your lockers! I don't know how long I could- ARGH!"

"Jaune!" Pyrhha yelled, holding a hand outstretched towards him as the Giant Nevermore finally wriggled free, and slammed it's tail onto the blonde knight's core, causing him to hurtle onto the other side of the stadium's walls with a loud slam, a huge crater cracking behind him.

"Blargh..." Jaune's shoulders heaved up and down as he staggered to get up, spittle covering the floor as all the air was pushed out of his lungs in an instant.

The Nevermore, suddenly uninterested in the blonde knight, turned around to face the scarlet reaper and twisted it's neck curiously as it's beady eyes scanned it's meal.

"Oh no you don't!" Jaune limped forward. "Hey bird brain! Over here!"

"I think that command about the lockers goes for us too." Ren pointed out with a somewhat neutral, yet concerned expression as he looked towards his leader's attempting to distract the Nevermore by slamming the flat of Crocea Mors's blade onto the flat of his shield whilst yelling aloud.

"Okay, yeah, we got it!" Weiss grumbled as she took out her scroll.

"Louis... died." Blake muttered, eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at the center of the stage.

"Blake, Blake! Stay with us." Weiss shrieked as a locker slammed onto the avian's tail, causing it to shriek in pain and turn around to see what had rooted it to the floor, whilst Jaune let out a huge sigh of relief being but less then 5 meters away from having his aura, and possibly his body, destroyed by it.

"Blake." Pyrhha said as calm as she possibly could, though there was still some shaking audible through her vocal chords as she gulped back from being choked up, grabbing Blake's shoulders. "I know this is a lot to take in right now... but please... we need you to be strong right now."

Blake trembled, clenching her fists as her face tilting up as tears started to cascade down the side of her cheek.

"Blake...?" Weiss asked, and afterwards, gasped.

The other's followed her gaze, eyes widening in shock.

Her eyes were set with no light in them. Cold and ruthless, like stone. Her scroll screeched out in pain as she basically dug a hole on it's screen, clenching it so hard it shattered the moment her locker had hit the Nevermore's body, causing the gargantuan to screech in pain.

"Evans..." She hissed as she ground her teeth so hard, it might've shattered. "You're a dead man."

_Later..._

"Ruby... Ruby!" Weiss scrambled over to the red hooded leader on her knees. "You need to get up, now!"

"Blake..." Jaune muttered when she saw the cat faunus brutally butchered the gargantuan, unwittingly covering both herself and her weapon in grime and blood as her shoulders rose and fell.

"Louis... " She wept as tears profusely refused to stop flowing out from the broken dams that were her eyes. "Lou... is..."

"I know, we'll go see him now." Weiss said.

"But... Pyrhha... The maiden..."

"We'll take care of it." Ren said, both green colored blades by his side.

"No, we stick together!" Jaune commanded. "We'll go see Louis's bod- I mean, see him, then get Pyrhha to the maiden." Jaune quickly corrected himself as Weiss's eyes bore into his, sending a freezing glare that would've frozen his bones solid, causing him to look away.

"Let's go." Weiss said as she hefted the black haired girl by her shoulders. "Grab Cresent Rose. We never know if we'll run into any more of those along the way."

Ruby sniffled, but nodded as her locker slammed into the already dead Nevermore's body with a loud thud.

The locker doors hissed as they popped open, earning a loud gasp from Ruby, eyes wide with both hands to her mouth.

The rest couldn't help but do the same as they followed Ruby's gaze at not what, but instead, who resides within.

"YANG!"

_Yang's POV_

_YANG!_

Is that...

_Yang!_

Ruby? Blake?

_Yang?! Yang!_

Weiss? Is that... Pyrhha?

What's going... on?

I can't even see my own hands in front of me.

_YANG! Wake up!_

I'm... sleeping?

Guess that would explain the darkness.

Well if that's the case...

Then just... give... me...

"Five more... minutes..." Yang muttered, then ate in her sleep.

"Oh thank god." Weiss gasped. "She isn't dead after all."

Dead...?

Why would I be-

"Louis wouldn't do something like that." Jaune said from somewhere to the left.

"Hmph!" Weiss huffed. "But why would he accept of such false accusations then?"

Wait...

"Everything is done for a reason." Blake muttered.

It's all coming back to me now.

"LOUIS!" Yang yelled, eyes immediately crimson as they snapped open whilst she shot up into a combat stance.

The first thing she'd noticed is Ruby rubbing her forehead with tear stains on her cheeks. She felt a little pinging of her Aura on her forehead too, but nothing fatal.

"Rubes?" She asked as she glanced around, greeted with stupefied looks from the remaining 6 members of both teams. "What's going on? Why are we in the arena and..." Her eyes widened when she looked at what she was stepping on. "Is that a Giant Nevermore we're on?!"

"How was your beauty nap?" Weiss questioned, though the look in her eyes spell nothing but concern.

"All good." Yang said as she stretched her arms. "Woah..." Yang gasped as she saw the state Blake was in. "What happened to you partner?"

Blake couldn't meet her eyes as she flicked Gambol Shroud free of gore and some Nevermore innards.

"H-how did you even get in my locker in the first place?" Ruby asked shakily.

"I... don't... know?" Yang muttered a reply honestly, still half dazed from the whole ordeal. "I just remembered Louis jabbing something into my neck as he..."

Her cheeks flushed.

"Yang?" Ruby asked.

"N-nothing!" She reeled back, keeping her eyes on the floor as her cheeks betrayed her. "A-anyway... where is he?"

"Louis is gone Yang."

It took a while for her to register that it was Weiss who said that, looking at the floor with an expression full of regret.

"Heh... And he said he wasn't a runner. I should've known-"

"He's dead Yang." Pyrhha said, breaking the news to the blonde brawler, who fell back on her rear.

Everybody stood there silently as they refused to meet her eyes.

Ruby sniffled, but nobody dared to talk.

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out as crimson eyes reverted back to lilac.

"N-no way," She managed to get out. "I just met him a few minutes ago, he can't be-"

"His Aura hit 0 Yang..." Pyrhha confirmed as emerald orbs met lilac. "I'm... sorry..."

"No, you're mistaken. I just saw the guy, he can't be..."

"The whole world saw it." Weiss said.

Yang couldn't believe her ears as her hands grasped the Nevermore's feathers so hard it basically tore away from it's body with loud, plucking noises.

"How?" She choked back the words as tears pooled out of her eyes. "How did he die?"

Pyrhha looked over to Jaune, who nodded.

...

"Evans... killed him."

_Later..._

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in." The chubby paramedic from earlier said as he blocked the ambulance doors with both arms outstretched. "It's not something you kids should see. Besides, you must evacuate the arena before-"

"I don't care!" Ruby shouted in his face. "We need to see him and we need to see him now!"

"Move." Yang growled as Ember Celica whirred and extended into it's gauntlet form. "Or I'll move you out of the way myself."

"Ugh, fine." The main said with an exasperated sigh. "But don't say I didn't warn you." He said, holding the door open.

"Louis!" Ruby shouted as she burst into rose petals and rushed in, somehow refraining to stop herself in time barely inches away by his side, while the others climbed in.

It smelled like a mix between a morgue and a hospital.

And by the way their noses scrunched up almost immediately, nobody liked it.

Nobody wanted to accept it.

"Consider yourselves warned." The paramedic grunted as he put both hands on the sheets covering his body, and, with a swift jerk, took it off.

Louis lay shirtless and lifeless on the white satin sheets, his eyes closed shut, his body limp.

The bruise as to where Evans had jabbed him with White Knuckle Ride remains, 4 small but gaping holes remained visible his chest with dried blood around each gash.

"I-is that really him?" Yang asked, a look on disbelief present on her face. "I mean, it could just be..."

"Yang." Blake said as she put a bloodied palm on her partner's shoulder, eyes darting between the blonde brawler and their only male teammate, and her crush till this day.

"No..." Yang choked as she put both hands to her mouth, tears forming in her lilac eyes.

Blake drew her in for a hug and gave her partner a shoulder to cry on, hand clenching onto Gambol Shroud while being on the verge of tears herself, making a silent promise that she would get the one responsible for such a feat.

Pyrhha looked away, prompting Jaune to wrap an arm around her shoulder and eventually, wrapped her in a tight embrace as well.

"This... this happened because... of... of..."

"It's not your fault." Jaune reassured as the champion finally broke down.

"I should have taken the maiden's powers sooner... If I did he wouldn't have..."

"It's not your fault."

This time it was Weiss who said it, engulfing both Pyrhha and Jaune in her arms with a tight hug that had even the eastern gunman wrapping an arm around a depressed looking Nora, who was usually bubbly and cheerful.

Ruby said no words as more tears flowed out of her eyes, but Yang noticed that look in her eyes. It's the same one she had when Summer had disappeared. Prompting wrapping her arms, forming a link on the black haired girl's chest, hoping that it would have calmed down the uneven breathing or the sobs, even just a little.

"We're gonna make whoever is behind this pay Ruby." Jaune said with a determined look on his face. "Evans, the people who cause all this, for Beacon to fall, we'll get them all. This, I promise."

"I don't get it... this doesn't make any sense. None of this does." Yang muttered. "This entire time we knew Evans he'd always been an ally. They even called themselves 'brothers' at times." Yang said, shaking her head. "Why would he kill Louis? And why now of all times?"

"Everything done..." Blake chanted, eyes widening. "Is done for a reason."

As she repeated the words, her hand reached out to touch Louis's body.

"Blake, what are you-!" Weiss gasped as she reached out to stop her, but was interrupted as Louis's body...

Shattered like glass, tinkling onto the floor in a million little pieces, before shimmering away.

The doors to the ambulance slammed shut, and from inside, all 8 heard multiple locking mechanisms clicking into place as every door slammed shut and locked them in.

"It's a trap!" Weiss yelled, Myrtenaster held up to her face in an instant, the others very much doing the same by unholstering their weapons bar Ruby, who couldn't extend her scythe to it's full length in the cramped space of a vehicle, unless she wanted to risk hurting her friends.

"They knew we'll come to see his body!" Blake said. "Everybody stay alert!"

There was nothing but silence for the next few seconds as they wracked their brains on what to do next.

"Y'know, they just made our jobs a lot more easier by gathering us all here." Yang snarled, eyes honed in on the back doors as a predator would to prey, expecting the perpetrators to come in at any moment.

"What do you mean?" It was Weiss who asked her, though her eyes darted around to everywhere but the blonde she was talking to, expecting an attack.

"There are 8 of us, in an ambulance that might as well be a tunnel." Yang explained. "The front of this thing is sitting on the very edge of the stadium and ready to take off. So unless someone has flight as their semblance or something, Me, Jaune and Pyrhha could take the damage up front, while the rest of you could attack with range from the back. All of our Auras are still full since none of us fought, even if one of us gets hurt, we could swap out Nora could just fill that spot in."

"Hmm..." Jaune nodded in both agreement and amazement. "Okay, move into position."

They were about to, but the eastern gunslinger halted in his tracks, eyes widening in realization.

"Unless..." Ren's breathed out. "They're planning to get rid of all of us in one shot! There's a dust bomb under this ambulance!"

"What do we do?" The red hooded leader asked, eyes darting around frantically in panic. "They could be waiting for us outside right now!"

"So either way we lose?!" Blake shouted. "We stay inside, we explode, we go outside, we get shot down?!"

"Don't panic now!" Pyrhha yelled in order to maintain control of the situation. "We'll only draw the Grimm to us!"

"She's right guys!" Jaune said as he held both hands out. "They can't fly, but the Nevermore's can!"

"Screw it!" Yang yelled out in fury as she punched the doors open and instantly went into a stance, everybody jumping out of the vehicle, not wanting to be the last one to go out should things go wrong.

They looked around in confusion. Nobody's there waiting for them, and nothing's happening to the ambulance they were in.

Just 8 teenagers with their weapons out and their eyes wide, with their chests heaving up and down as they gasped for air.

"W-what?!" Weiss muttered as she dusted herself off any linen. "There's... no one here to ambush us."

"And no bombs... either?" Pyrhha asked.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Yang shrieked in anger, eyes flashing crimson. "Are the bad guys trying to mock us?! Knowing we have no way to stop Beacon from falling?!"

"Yang!" Blake yelled, gaining the blonde brawler's attention. "Save up your anger for later. We need to head for Beacon..."

She looked over the ledge, giving the group a good view over Beacon, and the sea of black that's quickly approaching. Huge plumes of smoke rose quickly upwards and obstructing their vision.

"And fast." She said.

Everybody nodded in agreement, and hopped into an empty bullhead parked not too far away to descend from the Amity Arena.

"You know how to fly this thing?" Yang raised a brow asking Jaune as he got into the pilot's seat.

"No." Jaune said as he pushed multiple buttons, and settled his hands on the steering wheel. "But I'm going to anyway."

...

"Good."

_Later..._

"The White Fang are here?!" Blake screamed as she tore out a Beowolf's throat, landing down in a graceful crouch as her body twisted back to an upright position. "Releasing Grimm into the school?! Why?!"

"Why don't you take your time and ask them yourself?!" Weiss yelled as she surrounded herself with glyphs, launching herself and barreling into multiple White Fang members that yelled out in pain.

It was at that moment, that all the Atlas tech around them stopped in their tracks, their mechanical joints slumping and multiple clicking and whirring noises can be heard as they rotated around, causing most of both teams to gasp out in shock.

"Uhh, is it just me or..." Yang asked.

"It's not just you Yang." Weiss scoffed, holding her rapier out towards one of the Atlesian Knights.

The visors on their heads... were red.

"Ugh, can this get any worse?!" Nora shouted as she slammed her hammer into one of the Knights and causing it to erupt in a shower of sparks, and the rest of it's unit to spread out as a reaction.

The Atlesian Paladins turned towards them with red visors as well.

"You just had to ask." Ren sighed, extending out Stormflower on both sides as it seemingly slid out of his sleeves, and started to fire a barrage of bullets into the Paladin, who returned it with missiles of it's own as it stormed towards them with heavy, thundering booms echoing through the courtyard with each step.

"We took one of those out before. Should be a piece of cake." Yang said, cracking her knuckles.

"Don't be so sure." Weiss criticized, erecting an ice wall so that both parties can hide behind some form of cover. "The one we fought was a prototype. Winter said so." Weiss said when Yang made to raise a brow at her.

"Well if that one was a prototype, then this one shouldn't be too different." Yang shrugged.

"We should try to come up with another strategy about beating it." Ruby stated. "You just woke up from passing out Yang. I don't think we should rely on you getting hit to finish it off like last time."

"Ugh..." Yang rolled her eyes. "Fine. What's the plan?"

...

...

...

"No plan?" Yang raised her brow. "Then I guess we hit it as hard as we can."

"I... think I may have something." Weiss admitted. "But..."

"But...?"

...

"Nevermind." Weiss decided as she hissed a breath through grit teeth, but kept her hard eyes on the concrete pavements . "Buy me time."

"Weiss?" Pyrhha asked.

"Just buy me time!" She repeated as she closed her eyes. "I need to concentrate."

"O...kay?" Jaune mumbled. "That's definitely descriptive."

No more words were shared as she jabbed Myrtenaster onto the floor, conjuring a gargantuan glyph in front of her.

"Fan out!" Jaune commanded as he leapt out of cover. "Keep passing it's attention around! It can't concentrate on all of us at once!"

With a nod, Ruby took this chance to slash at once of it's legs, being the first one to taunt it into attack her as it attempted to crush her to death.

Unfortunately for the mech, at that moment, Ruby burst into rose petals to escape and Pyrhha took over, planting Milo between the mechanical joints connecting it's body to it's limbs, and with her semblance, attempted to pry it's arm loose.

Noticing it immediately, it spun it's body wildly in an attempt to shake Pyrhha off, only for Blake to latch on to it's metal forearm with Gambol Shroud, halting it in it's tracks, and with the help of a certain strong ginger haired girl, yanked the ribbon wrapped around it so it fell down with a resounding boom that echoed through the night, along with several gunshots going off a good distance away from Atlesian soldiers desperately attempting to hold their ground.

"Weiss? Now!" Ruby shouted, but got no response from the heiress, who was still concealed behind her own ice wall.

"Weiss?!" Yang yelled once more with a tinge of concern in her tone, afraid something might have happened to her that they hadn't noticed yet, since all their attention had been on the gargantuan mech.

The Paladin's visor glowed, red hot with robotic rage as it planted a palm on the tesselations that decorated the couryard, and it's mechanical joints groaned as it pushed itself up halfway.

"Damnit!" Jaune yelled as he swiped at it's legs with Crocea Mors, and then jabbed it, effectively sticking it on a weakened joint. "Nora now!"

"Aye aye!" The hammer wielding girl saluted, before charging in and nailing the ancestral blade deeper, tearing through electrical wires and bolts that flew and sprayed out of the gashing wound.

The mech noticed, but didn't falter as it staggered to stand up, trying to block it's joint by putting it's forearm in front of it, for what little good it did.

"It's not going down!" Yang yelled as she lunged forwards, but then lilac eyes widened as she skidded to a halt.

_SLASH_

In an instant, the mech that they tried so hard to keep at bay...

Was torn in two.

The two halves twitched as a shower of sparks erupted from the middle, along with a gunk of sludge which one can only assume is dust that fueled the gargantuan, sprayed out of it's tubes.

"Heh... took you long enough Weiss cream." Yang snickered.

"Well sorry." Weiss scoffed as she rode atop Arma Gigas, who embedded it's sword in a knightly pose. "I never knew it took longer to summon something this large. It's a first for me too y'know."

A scream made it's way to Blake's ears, causing the pair on top of her head to twitch.

"Blake..." A voice called out as he finally reached the cat faunus after plowing through armies of Grimm. "Are you okay? What's going on?!"

She turned around to see a monkey faunus sprinting in her direction with a worried expression.

"Sun I... We... need to talk. I don't think we should-" Blake said, gnawing on her bottom lip as the shrill scream interupted her once more, causing her cat ears to flatten.

"Huh... what?" Sun asked with a raised brow, no doubt hearing the plea as well with his enhanced hearing, but his girlfriend's words took priority over that.

"It's not right... We... are not right. I don't think we should keep-"

The shrill scream erupted once more, rasped out and gurgling in a desperate attempt to call for help.

"We'll talk later." Sun decided, though from the hurt look on his face, he already knew what it was about. Either that, or he was just delaying the inevitable. "We got this." He said in a fustrated tone as he turned his back on Blake. "Go."

"Thank you... And... I'm sorry." Blake muttered as she turned to face her team.

"The cafeteria!" Blake yelled. "Someone's trapped there!"

"What do we do?" Weiss asked, hopping down from her familiar.

"We'll go check it out." Yang said, looking at team JNPR. "Sorry guys, but it looks like you're gonna have to go without us. Keep her safe." She looked at Pyrhha when she made that final remark, before rushing off with the rest of her team and hauled ass towards the source of the scream.

"So much for sticking together." Pyrhha sighed.

"Hey, we'll get through this." Jaune reassured, slinging an arm around the champion.

"Jaune!"

Jaune's neck craned to where several coloured dots filled his vision, almost completely out of sight, but the red once was noticably waving towards him.

"Take care of Pyrhha! We'll join you guys as soon as we're finished." Ruby promised before bursting into rose petals.

"I won't forgive you if anything happens to her!" Yang yelled over her shoulder.

"That is considering we're able to forgive ourselves first." Jaune muttered under his breath, before taking a deep one as he stared into each of his teammates eyes, before settling on a small nod.

With Team JNPR battling for Beacon, along with SSSN, who caught up not too soon after team RWBY had left, Armies of robots and mechs didn't stand a chance, and were easily dismembered and torn apart, going down like flies near an electrical flytrap, reducing their numbers exponentially.

But the arsenal of the Atlas Military... was massive.

"They just keep coming!" Sun complained as the monkey faunus fired a barrage of bullets onto the oncoming Knights, and backhanded a White Fang member, who immidiately fell unconcscious.

Ozpin was somehow visible through the chaos, waiting at the foot of the tower patiently as Pyrhha spotted him.

"Sorry guys." Jaune apologized, Ren somersaulting into a graceful crouch beside his leader, and Nora hopping back and pretty much doing the same. "But we have to go. Think you could handle this on your own?"

"Who do you think we are?" Neptune chuckled, equpping his goggle and firing his plasma canon into an Ursa. "As long as SSSN sticks together, we should be fine. We got this. You guys just do what you must."

"Don't count us out!"

A hailstorm of bullets pelleted into a Griffon, which got obliterated almost immidiately, from being on the verge of clawing Nepptune's head clean off his shoulders.

"You're welcome junior." A brunette scoffed, throwing the blonde dyed lock behind her shoulder as the minigun mecha shifted into a handbag, twisting her body around and slamming a Beowolf head first onto the concrete pavements.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi yelled before slamming his greatsword into an Ursa's back, which had reared up and somehow snuck past the brunette's guard.

"Always could rely on you big boy." Coco teased.

"So uhhh..." Neptune faltered as he turned back to team JNPR, who would've deadpanned if it weren't for the sheer seriousness of the situation as they caught him red handed cajoling Coco. "Yeah... we're good."

Jaune nodded to the rest of his team. "Let's go." He stated, whom returned it each with a nod of their own.

**A/N**

**Nothing much to say, everything much to do.**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N**

**Okay... uhh, I sorta just realized I went overkill this chapter , only realizing I have over 8k words without A/N's and Reviewer Sessions after saving it, but skim reading it again I can't just figure out where to cut this so...**

**Yay? I guess?**

"Cover me!" The leader of team SSSN called out to the brunette behind him as he lurched forwards.

The woman in question pushed her shades up her nose ridge, and nodded off in his direction, before swinging her torso, and aiming the rotating barrel of her minigun in an attempt to support the assault.

"Raaaagh!" The monkey faunus yelled out in frustration as he brought his staff down, slamming the full length of his pole repeatedly and maniacally on an Atlesian Paladin's chassis, leaving thick, deep depressions that permanently marked it's front side, before it toppled over getting pelleted by the combination of both Coco's and Velvet's bullets, emitting loud shredding noises like a lawnmower catching pebbles in it's way, causing it to wave it's arms around frantically in a desperate attempt to regain balance, but to no avail.

"Sun calm down!" Neptune yelled over gunfire, as he backed his leader up by mecha shifting his pulse rifle into a spear, and, with a moment to position it vertically, slashed at the gargantuan's legs, which groaned and cracked.

"I am calm!" Sun shouted out, breaking his staff in two as he fired a flurry of bullets into the already weakened joints, causing it to creak, hiss, groan and whirr at the same time as it struggled to shake him off. The mech then fell with a thundering boom as the visor went dark, leaving the monkey faunus atop it alone, jabbing into the chassis with his bare hands.

"You're anything but!"

It was Velvet who spoke as she landed beside Sun, before driving a powerful kick behind him, a loud clank resounding in his ears before a boom could be heard as she fired the imitation of Ember Celica, causing something to burst into a shower of sparks. As Sun looked back, it was to discover a dismantled Atlesian Knight unit with thick cables and ripped wires jutting out of it's mid section, finger's twitching as the red light behind the cracked glass flickered out of existence.

"Sun!" Neptune cried as both of Sun stumbled off and fell on both hands. "You alright man!?"

"-she still likes him..." Sun muttered.

"What?" Neptune asked with a raised brow as he threw his polearm backwards, launching a White Fang member that was trying to go for the direct approach with a dagger, and nothing else.

"This whole time we're together, whenever we hang out... whenever we have some time alone... it's not me she sees." Sun stared at his hands in disbelief. "It's him..."

"Him..." Neptune's eyes widened in realization. "By him... You meant Louis?!"

Sun sighed in frustration, clenching his fingers into hard balls that his knuckles were visibly white, but nodded regardless.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Neptune yelled over gunfire and the clashing of steel on steel as he grabbed both of Sun's shoulders and shook it harshly. "So what if she likes him? You could always-"

"You don't understand man!" Sun shouted back as he pushed the blue haired boy away, causing his partner to reel back and land on his rear. "He was the one who got us together! Without Louis there is no 'us'!"

"What are you trying to say?" Neptune asked with a raised brow, dusting himself as he got up and immidiately crouched down and aimed down his sights, his pulse rifle held up and ready to fire as soon as an enemy enters it's vision in an attempt to protect his currently brooding leader.

"I didn't even manage to say thank you, I owed him... a lot, that much was clear, but instead..." Sun growled under his breath.

"When he died... a part of me was happy." Sun admitted as a guilty expression crept it's way up on his face, his mouth twisting into a rare, disgusted snarl. "Part of me thought, that it was finally over, that she'd finally have that last shred of doubt torn from her, that we could finally live our happily ever after."

"That's just jealousy speaking, you don't mean it-" Neptune attempted, but was ignored as the faunus ranted on.

"He's the reason why she continues to fight. It hurts her to even be with me, but she doesn't dare admit it... for his sake." Sun sulked as his tail lay flat on the floor. "He's always there, to be a living reminder that she should've taken it slow on the White Fang, as long as he was there in her team... it was enough. His presence there reminded her, that he wanted us to be together."

"He trusted me..." Sun said. "Convinced me that I could- no, should be her light to her darkness. He was so sure, so confident that I could do the same as he, and pull her out of her misery. But then he..."

"Died..." Neptune finished for his leader, partner, and best friend.

"Ironic how I assured myself that I could do the same..." Sun said in a defeated chuckle. "Funny how that turned out. I... I didn't do what I was supposed to." He scowled. "I wasn't the light in her darkness he wanted me to be, the morning to her night. Instead... it was the complete opposite."

"Instead of dragging her to my side, I was dragged into hers... I was... obsessed with her, so much so, that I felt like I wanted to hunt down every member White Fang on my own from even thinking of hurting her. I get mad whenever she even mentions the Fang, hell, even now!" Sun motioned around him to the beaten and bloodied henchmen, all wearing black robes with shattered white masks that resembled Grimm, most of them were cracked open by what looks to be, something with a girth of a polearm. "Just fighting these guys even got me more riled up then it has to. Sounds familiar?"

"Sun..."

"I'm so dumb." Sun glowered as he buried his face into his hands. "Why was I even grateful, the moment that he died? I should've known that his death would have an effect on her. It did... on all of us. Now that he isn't here... I lost her... for good, and I don't know what to do. She's in an even darker place then she initially was... going on a warpath for the ones behind all this, and I... " He sighed and shook his head. "I can't even stop her. I can't convince her that everything will be alright, cause it's not!" He said, slamming his palm and shattering the concrete beneath him.

"That's not true." Neptune said as he scanned the area. Seeing that there was no approaching danger from a mile away from both the land and the skies, his shoulders slumped as he let out a relieved sigh, and finally, decided to sit on the tesselated tiles beside Sun.

"I knew, this whole time I knew she still liked him, yet I still went for it, hoping that someday, he'll go away." The blonde faunus scoffed as he bent one knee up, propping up one arm as he looked away, unable to meet the eyes of his best friend. "What a Huntsman I turned out to be." He spat. "Who am I kidding? Guess I got my wish granted to me now, didn't I?"

"Look." Neptune sighed as he got up, taking his goggles off to reveal his azure eyes that seemed to bore through the back of Sun's skull. "You could stay here, mope all night and lose more then just Blake. Our guys from Haven are fighting too you know." Neptune added when Sun turned around with a puzzled expression. "Or..." He dragged on when Sun finally looked up and their eyes met, with the blue haired boy extending his arm out.

"You could be our awesome leader that we always know and love, and help us defend Beacon. I don't know about you, but even though we haven't been here for too long, I kind of like this place, even though our stay was only temporarily, it's kind of a bummer that we have to see it get destroyed and... it looks like it could use a Sun Wukong right now." He said, gesturing around him to show Scarlet and Sage riding on what seemed to look like, an Ursa Major in a distance that tried to scratch it's own back to scrape them off.

A startled cry grabbed Sun's attention, causing his ears to perk up and tail to rise above ground, but Neptune ignored it and pushed on. "About the whole... seeking revenge thing, you could always talk to Blake afterwards. Hell, I'll even come with." Neptune said as he slammed a curled up fist on his chest twice. "About your relationship though... I'm not sure if you could even salvage that, but if it happens, it happens. I'm sure she won't say no to going back to being friends." Neptune shrugged. "Besides, if she wants to avoid you completely, you always have us, team SSSN. Bros before hoes am I right?"

...

"Son of a bitch..." Sun snickered off a defeated chuckle as he accepted Neptune's arm. "Where did you learn to talk like that? No offense." Sun added as Neptune shot him a glare. "But you aren't really the 'heart to heart' or 'advice' type."

"You weren't the only one who didn't manage to say goodbye." Neptune sighed. "He talked me into dancing with Weiss, remember?"

"You... were gonna thank him?" Sun asked in a surprised tone. "I thought you were too cool for that."

"I was gonna do so privately but..." Neptune shrugged as he scratched the back of his head. "I never got the chance. Never will now that he's gone."

"Anyway..." Sun's eyes darted around as he tried to avert the topic. "I thought you were supposed to be with me getting the girls, not against."

"Well, not when you're gonna start being the submissive one." Neptune chuckled back as he pulled the leader up to his feet. "And here I remember you saying you were the dominant one in bed. Was that a lie just to look cool?"

Sun's cheeks darkened a little as he silently cursed his talkative mouth. "Oh come o-"

"Look out!" Someone shouted from their left.

_SQWAAAAAAAAAK _

A Nevermore of decent size landed between them, causing them to do some backflips and, with the help of their staves, land next to each other.

"You ready to do this partner?" Neptune said, lifting his spear out as his eyes locked to the screeching avian in front of him, with Sun connected both ends of his nunchucks merging them into a long pole.

"You'd better keep quiet about this!" Sun yelled as he jumped high up. "Can't have the risk of my public image getting destroyed."

"The brooding or the fact that you're lying about being the dom in bed?" Neptune shouted the question as he extended his spear. "By the way, I always wondered, how does it feel like to get tied up by Gambol Shroud?" He teased, poking his tounge out as he rushed forward.

"Both you aquaphobic bastard!" Sun laughed, swinging his staff on the side of the Nevermore's head.

"My lips are sealed buddy!" Neptune called out and slid under the Nevermore's legs in an attempt to trip it. "Tho, can Sage and Scarlet know? We're a team after all. I'm sure they can keep their mouths shut!" He snickered. "Maybe."

"Fuck you!" Sun said riding atop the Nevermore with nothing short of a smile on his face.

_BOOM_

The shockwave that shook the ground prompted every student to stop fighting and stare up, causing their eyes to bulge out and their mouths to hang in the air.

The broken moon above them casted a gargantuan shadow peeked over the horizon and loomed over the majority of Beacon.

A cyan radial sphere of pure electrical energy burst forth from the hull of the ship, knocking out the thrusters and engines almost immediately as it wobbled unstably mid air.

Even from the ground, the students could make out showers of sparks and explosions that just seemed to spread in a bigger area with each passing second, plumes of thick, black smoke came billowing out of it's exhaust, before swerving to the side and dragging the entirety of it's mechanical body along the vast expanse of the Emerald Forest with an everlasting string of explosions that echoed throughout the night, the devastation leaving stumps of trees in it's path, crunching and crushing them beneath it's massive weight.

"Uhh..." Coco raised her brow as the Atlesian Tech's visors seemed to flicker out of life, and buckled on their knees as their bodies slumped forwards, clinking and clanking resounding like a chorus of mass produced metal being stacked atop one another without care, merging with the dirt, debris and shattered masonry that littered the courtyard as it started to fill up with a huge, ivory sheet of automaton corpses that blanketed the battlefield.

The Nevermore Neptune and Sun were attempting to taken down craned it's neck to the side, and then shook it's body violently as if it's trying to dry it's body from being fresh out of a shower. Without even batting an eye, it started to spread it's wings, causing Sun's eyes to widen.

"Sun get off!" Neptune yelled, and right at the last moment, with the agility and grace of a faunus, managed to land on his rear as the Nevermore, and all the Grimm around them started to gather up together around them, forming a sea of black around them, crushing the metal and concrete beneath them with loud crunch and screeches.

"Group up!" Coco yelled out in panic, and all the students from various campuses obliged, forming a circle as they readied their weapons for what seemed to be an all out attack.

With an ear piercing roar from the Ursa Major, however, they looked at one direction, all at the same time, as if summoned by something, stampeded off, ignoring the students altogether, causing them to look like a sharp rock poking out of a flowing river.

...

"T-they... left?" A student of what looks to be Atlas, by the way he wore the white and tattered clothes hung in the night air, asked as the last of the Grimm seemed to clear out of the area, a few Boarbatusks and a pair of Beowolves staggering to reach the gates as their hind legs somewhere admist the melee, or it's peers.

"I-is it f-finally over?" Another gasped, a fair skinned female student wearing a nothing but a tank top and some shorts asked back.

"What... is going on?" Neptune asked with a raised brow as most of the students sighed in a chorus of relief. "Grimm never travel en masse. One type of Grimm traveling together as being a herd or a flock sure but this..."

"This is unheard of..." Sun agreed with a nod.

"Something is wrong." Coco admitted as she wiped a droplet of sweat off her brow, before mecha shifting her minigun back into a purse. "But for now, let's use this time to rest knowing that they're gone, even if it's temporary." She heaved a relieved sigh as she sat beside Velvet, who was leant on the eastern man with worn out green armor full of scratches and dents. "Hopefully, for our sakes, they're gone for good."

"Yeah..." Neptune panted as he fell on his rear, landing beside Sun. he didn't even notice how tired he was until his legs gave away, feeling like jelly as it basically crumbled away as pain lanced through them, causing his thighs to cramp up. "I... I could do that."

How long have they been fighting? Minutes? Hours?

It felt like an eternity, the only thing keeping them motivated being the desperate desire to protect their friends.

"Let's make sure nobody else dies today, yeah?" Neptune said as he took a swig from his water bottle. "It would suck if we'd lose anyone else."

"Of course." Sun agreed as he held out his fist, which Neptune returned as he connected his. "By the way..."

"Hm?"

"I thought you were gonna ask for her number?" Sun breathed out heavily as he fell backwards, propping his body with both hands behind his back.

"Oh right!" Neptune shot up and smiled, suddenly revitalized with energy.

"Same old Neptune." Sun smirked as Neptune's shoulder's slumped in front of the group of second years, the brunette in question flicking the highlighted lock of hair behind her with a quick breath from her mouth, who manage to give a small chuckle and nod at his attempt, and slung an arm around his shoulders as she lowered down her shades and whispered in his ear what looked to be, advice.

...

"Blake..." Sun whispered under his breath as his eyes roved up, craning his neck at an angle to look up to the shattered moon.

_Shift_

"Hello?! Anybody there?!" Ruby called out as their eyes scanned around the area, searching for the source of the scream they've heard earlier. "Please, if you can hear me, say something!"

"Somebody, anybody, hel- ARGHH!"

Team RWBY gazes snapped in the direction of a student's final plea, right on time to see a crimson haired man with his back turned to them, wearing a black cloak that has a red rose insignia on it, running a katana through an Atlesian student's chest.

The light slowly seeped out of his eyes as he sighed his last breath, holding out his hands to what could have been his saviors had they arrived on time.

"NO!" Ruby cried, but Yang held a hand across, forbidding her to go.

"A White Fang member..." Weiss muttered as she unholestered Myrtenaster to her side. "But he... looks different."

"I-it can't be..." Blake muttered shakily, her eyes widening as she remained glued to the ground, trembling in fear. "Adam?"

"Hello my love." Adam sneered as he cleared his blade of any blood by giving it a swift flick to his right, ignoring the gurling fountain that's making a maroon mess on the cafeteria's floor. "It's been far too long."

"You... know this guy?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"H-he's-" Blake's lips quivered.

"I think I heard that name before." Weiss muttered as she attempted to recall the memory, before her eyes snapped open. "Wait..." Weiss's eyes widened in realization as she faced the cat faunus. "THAT's your ex?!" She pointed.

Blake's feline ears flattened against her head as she kept her gaze on the floor.

"So, this whole time, you betrayed your fellow faunus. For this?" Adam spat as he gestured to the ruined cafeteria before him.

"I never asked for any of this!" Blake countered, shaking her head. "The violence, the stealing," She said, gesturing around, but her eyes seem to pierce through him as it honed on the corpse behind him. "The murders!"

"Then what did you hope for?" Adam asked. "A peace treaty? You think the humans would honor that promise? Just look at how Menagerie turned out!" Adam shouted as he sliced the air with his hand.

"I wanted coexistence, not this!" Blake retaliated.

"What you want... is Impossible!" Adam shouted aloud. "You hoped that we could change the way humans treat faunus. With what? Words? Many have tried, and look where they are now!"

"And this will?" Blake countered. "Look around you Adam! What do you hope to gain from the fall of Beacon?!"

"A spark." Adam answered with ease. "This way, our message will become clear to the rest of the world. Change the way humans see us faunus kind, without violence? Without taking actions? The Fang needed that small push of motivation to stride forwards. And I gave them just that." He spread out his arms as if addressing an audience. "United, look at what we've achieved!"

"You twisted and misled the Fang down this path." Blake scowled. "How many people have died for this?!" Blake yelled as she motioned around. "And how many more will?"

"As many as needs be." Adam replied in a calm manner. "So long as I lead them, the faunus stand above humans. No longer will we be enslaved, and no longer will we be discriminated!"

"This isn't what the Fang was made for!"

"Past attempts from the previous leaders of the White Fang to negotiate with humans has only ended in our brothers and sister's bloodshed."

"And this isn't?!" Blake asked. "You just sacrificed them for your own selfishness!"

"At least here, they know what they're dying for." Adam sneered back. "But enough about them. I'm here..." He said, pointing the crimson blade towards the cat faunus. "For you."

"You're not taking her." Ruby growled as she extended Cresent Rose to it's full length, the blade facing the other direction as she steadied herself into a crouch, ready to launch herself at any give moment.

"How did you two even get together?" Yang asked as she readied herself into a hunched brawler's stance. "I mean... what do you even see in him? It's like he's trying so hard to look dominant in power it's making Cardin look as innocent as Zwei... and that's saying a lot. He's... how did they put it? Edgy as fuck?"

"He... wasn't like this before." Blake admitted with a gulp as she drew Gambol Shroud that rasped out of it's sheath.

"It's hard not to see that." Yang would've deadpanned, if she didn't see her partner's trembling legs.

Blake tried hard to keep her face stoic and her hands stable, though the way her face twisted into a panicked frown and her feet remained glued to the ground showed what she was truly feeling.

"Is he strong?" Yang asked as she lifted both hands to her face as to throw a glance at her partner, the way how the cat faunus's breaths came out in ragged pants says it all.

"Probably the best among us." Blake replied.

"I see you've found comfort among _humans_." Adam snarled in disgust. "I'll kill them all myself." he decided after a moment of thought. "Years of suffering, of torture in their hands, now it's time we return the favour."

"These _humans._" Yang echoed. "Are her team, and you need to stop referring to a race as if they are some form of insult."

"You've done the same to our kind." Adam replied. "And you just brought your 'team' to their deaths."

"I'm gonna make you suffer from all the pain you've caused. Starting with..." He said as his blade hovered to the shattered windows, causing the 4 girls to tense up as their eyes tracked the crimson balde. "The one who made us suffer the most. The Schnee."

Weiss reeled back, but Ruby grabbed her shoulder before she could fall.

"That's not fair! Weiss didn't do anything to deserve this, it was her father who-"

"And what makes you think I care?" Adam laughed maniacally as his hands tightened around the hilt of his blade, holding his hands out as if addressing an audience. "It doesn't matter who gets killed as long as my goal is achieved. Even better, both the SDC and Blake will suffer all at once, it's two birds for one stone. A chance like this only comes once in a lifetime."

"The ends justify the means huh?" Yang asked as she readied herself, hunching over into a brawler's stance.

"Your fight is with me!" Blake snapped. "Leave them out of this!"

"Oh?" Adam mocked in a furious snarl as he sheathed Wilt and Blush, crouching into a quickdraw position. "I can't wait to witness the look on their faces when you leave them all behind, and run away again, just like you did me."

"I won't run away," Blake said with determination as she looked behind them, eyes meeting the trembling heiress. "Not this time."

"Your empty promise has no meaning to me." Adam snarled as his crimson hair seemed to light up. "You said those very same words to me before all this, on the day you swore yourself to me, and look at what happened."

"If you're gonna take her." Yang said as she got in front of Ruby, and used an arm to drag Blake behind her. "Then you're gonna have to go through us first."

"I have no qualms with that." Adam said as his fingers tightened around his katana. "In fact, I'll do just that. Your blood with see itself at the end of my blade before you manage to see the light of day. By dawn, there will be nothing but corpses that litter my path on my way to faunus revolution! Faunus will rule! We will be the dominant species to walk the earth, not humans!"

"Sorta reminds me of the way Psycho Smile acted." Yang grimaced as she shook her head.

"Now die humans!" Adam shouted in rage as he tore the ground up in one swift slash, sending a red wave of hot crimson energy rapidly approaching in their direction.

"Move!" Blake shouted as the wave shot out, and pushed Yang out of the way, while Weiss and Ruby rolled into the building.

_Shift_

"I... never knew this was under the school." Ren admitted as his expression somewhat in awe amidst the dread they all shared.

Team RWBY had told all of them what Louis had said, but for the sake to honour their fallen friend, they kept their end of the deal to remain vague, no matter how obnoxious it seemed to be keeping something secret from the headmaster.

"Because it never was, though just this once, I will make an exception." The headmaster said in a neutral tone, yet there was a tinge of frustration to it.

"Why didn't you discuss this with us before you chose Pyrhha?" Jaune snarled.

"You would have influenced her decision, case in point." The headmaster said as he sprinted. "And it's not something I would have done if we had more time, which we, unfortunately, do not."

"I... don't understand why you have to choose Pyrhha out of all people." Jaune grumbled. "Why not someone from the upper years?!"

"I haven't found anybody worthy of the maiden's power, it's as simple as that." Ozpin replied as the machine could barely be made out straight ahead.

"Worthy?!" Jaune snapped. "What makes Pyrhha-"

"Would you have discussed your forged documents with your teammates? Mr Arc?" Ozpin asked out of the blue.

"I..." Jaune faltered as he skidded to a halt. "Wait... this whole time, you knew?!"

"Of course I did," Ozpin said whilst he slowed his pace down as they approached two giant, circular tubes, with one of them containing a body. "I wouldn't be your headmaster otherwise if I couldn't differenciate a false document with a real one."

"T-then..." He stammered. "You let me in... intentionally?"

"I had a feeling your heart was in the right place, and thus, thought you worthy as well." Ozpin said with half an eye as he frantically pushed the buttons, the whole chamber filled with clicking and whirring as hydraulics pushed the tubes into a slightly angled, but more vertical position, putting them into view as the glass panel hissed open. "Unfortunately the maiden's powers is only transferable to young women, and not men. Trust me Mr Arc, had I a choice, I would have used myself as a vessel for the maiden's powers the moment this machine was built."

"Grh..." Jaune grinded his teeth. "Can't we at least try?"

"And risk the proccess failing?" Ozpin asked, raising a brow. "Either wasting our time or having the risk of the machine killing both you and the maiden?"

"I..."

"I thought you worthy." He said without batting an eye and tapping away. "Now would be the perfect time to prove me right."

...

"You forged... your documents?" Ren asked with a raised brow.

"Guys... I..."

"It doesn't matter." Nora said as she gave his back a good smack. "If you hadn't had come along, we wouldn't have gotten the best leader ever! We couldn't think of anyone else better suited for our team!"

"You guys... don't..."

"What? Feel betrayed?" Ren questioned, earning a nod from the blonde knight. "Not really." He shrugged. "It's just that knowing explains a lot of things."

"I'm... sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner it's just..."

"You 3, stand guard." Ozpin interupted as the 3 students hesitated, but eventually nodded and readied their weapons.

"No apologies needed." Ren said as he threw a small glance to his side as a small smirk crept upon his face. "You may lack the training, but you're a Huntsman at heart Jaune."

"What he said!" Nora cheered with a jolly smile on her face as Magnhild extended to it's hammer form.

"Miss Nikos?" Ozpin asked.

...

_Pyrhha's POV_

"I..." She muttered as she looked over to where her teammates stood.

"What is your answer?"

...

"Give me just a moment." She said.

"Miss Nikos, time is a luxury we can no longer affo-"

"I know that!" She snapped back, but whimpered and reeled backwards as her expression became forlorn once more.

"I know that... but please.." She sighed as she looked at her hands, holding them up before her face. "Just give me just a few minutes to say... goodbye, to my friends, my..." She looked at the trio with their backs faced towards her and their guards up. "At least my teammates. If this machine does what you told me, they'll be the ones to spread my last words to the rest."

_Louis._

_He..._

_I never managed to give him my gratitude for getting me and Jaune together__, or the advice he unwittingly gave to me, wether that was intentional or not, guess I'll never know now. I never even managed to say goodbye for that matter._

_I'm not about to make the same mistake twice._

...

Ozpin nodded as she approached the blonde knight that was her boyfriend, but with or without his permission, she was planning to do this either way.

Pyrhha wasn't gonna regret what she was about to do. With a quick gulp of air before she changes her mind, she spun him around.

"Pyrhha? What are you-"

Their lips met as she silenced the blonde knight to give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

Jaune's eyes widened, but he didn't falter as she tried to pull away as he understood the true intentions of his girlfriend doing this, scrunching his eyes shut whilst grabbing her shoulders to pull her deeper. He wasn't about to let this goodbye be as short as a simple kiss, he wanted it to last.

Even though the two were interlocked in the embrace, every passing second became all the more agonizing as time continued to tick away.

"Jaune..." Pyrhha gasped a deep breath as she finally broke the connection, the only reason being that her lungs burned from the lack of air. "Guys... I-"

"We're not gonna leave you to do this alone." Ren nodded in agreement.

"We're here till the end." Nora said as she and Ren joined their embrace, wrapping the red haired champion in a group hug.

Pyrhha couldn't help the dams from breaking and sobbed as her team gave her a shoulder to cry on.

The only words audible through her short gasps were a softly muttered "Thank you..." before she broke away.

"Okay Professor, I'm ready to proceed." She said as she composed herself, clambering into the tube that would forever change her life.

"I'm... sorry." Ozpin muttered an apology, causing Pyrhha's eyes to widen to see the enigmatic man, usually so calm and composed, show any real signs of emotion. With a small smile, she rattled off. "I-I was prepared for this when I made up my mind. I-it's oka-"

A shrill, high pitched whistling sound could be heard, and Pyrhha's fast reflexes caused her to hold out her hand before her mouth could even say another word. With sheer luck, she was able to use her semblance to launch her shield and blocked an oncoming arrow right as it was about to strike the glass containing the current Fall maiden.

"Who-?" Jaune asked as the arrow ricocheted off his girlfriend's shield with a brittle clank that gave it a small indent, and proceeded to embed itself onto the steel frame of the chamber around Amber's tube, only a few inches away from bursting one of the main pipes maintaining her vitality.

"Cinder." Ren muttered as the woman in question revealed herself holding a black bow towards them, and nocked another arrow, causing the eastern gunman's head shaking in disbelief. "So she's the one behind all this."

"Why?!" Jaune yelled as he blocked another arrow that seem to have materialize out of thin air with his shield. "Why do you do this?!"

Cinder ignored him as she fired yet another arrow in an attempt to gain the powers she sought, but this time the headmaster was ready. A green force field blocked it's path, shattering it and sending shards tinkling down on the hard floor.

"Team JNPR, get out of here!" Ozpin commanded as he jabbed his cane on the concrete floor, and stood his ground.

"With all due respect." Ren said as he stood in front of Professor Ozpin. "It looks like you need all the help you can get."

"Go!" Ozpin shouted in anger, though a glance of his expression only said that he was nothing short of worried and concerned. "You'll only get in the way."

"But... you'll die!" Nora wailed as she stomped and positioned herself in front of her childhood friend.

"I'm your headmaster, have a little faith." Ozpin said as he tried to come up with a reassuring smile, but failing miserably as his eyes met Cinder's glowing orbs as her feet lifted off the ground. "And as headmaster I insist that you-"

"We're not leaving you." Jaune confirmed as he stood firm with his shield held up to his face. "We're not letting you die. Not here, not now."

"Ugh..." Ozpin grumbled as he held out his cane, jabbing it into the ground before him. "Forgive me for this."

Green, ethereal energy wisped into life as it seeped out of the ground, and started to surround each members of team JNPR, encaging and trapping them inside as they yelled out in desperation.

"She was right about you." Cinder finally spoke as the students yell only seem to muffle further. "Such arrogance."

"Professor!" Jaune yelled out as his fists slammed onto the now solid barrier. "Let us out!"

"You'll all waste your lives for nothing!" Ozpin replied, as he readied himself from the oncoming assault.

"You think you can defeat me alone? Living for thousands of years must have eaten away at that long dead brain of yours. You really have grown senile."

"I will stop you." Ozpin muttered under his breath. "Even if it means the end of this life."

"Good." Cinder said as her lips twisted into an evil grin. "I will enjoy killing you by my own hands, and after this, I will watch you suffer helplessly as I kill your pawns, one by on-"

Her shoulders tensed up as she doubled over, falling to the ground as her breath became heavy, ragged pants.

"W-what's happening?" Pyrhha asked.

"She... seems to be... struggling?" Ren echoed after the champion.

"What... is... this...?!" Cinder hissed through grit teeth as her hands shook, conjuring up a blobby mass of a crystaline structure that hovered in the air to what resembles a dagger, before she rammed it into her chest, only to pause mere inches from it.

The dagger then dropped onto the hard floor, causing it to fracture into a million tiny pieces as it spread out like a popped water balloon.

"What... was that?!" Cinder roared furiously in anger, before getting silenced by Ozpin immidiately closing the distance between them, striking with the sharp end of his cane in various pressure points in an attempt to incapitate the half maiden.

The veridian barriers surrounding the team flickered out of life, causing the team to look at each other, and nod as they attempted to reuse their headmaster's strategy, and close in on the maiden's assailant.

It was their last mistake.

"ENOUGH!" Cinder screamed as a rush of heat exploded outwards, shattering and charring the walls around them and the floor below them.

Furious, orange flames licked and spread like wildfire in a burning forest throughout the chamber, as if the concrete was made of wood, engulfing what it could as it started to melt along with the thick glass shards that had spiked out in perfect sync with the initial burst, making a flawless and deadly assault.

_Jaune's POV_

"Professor!" Jaune yelled as he saw past his burnt shield, tossing it aside almost immidiately as it was too hot to touch, to see the charred remains of what used to be... their headmaster. Maroon tinted the floor, causing Jaune's eyes to widen in horror as he saw multiple spikes that jutted out of the burnt corpse, leaving unmendable holes that decorated their headmaster. "NO!"

"I've warned him of what will happen." Cinder sneered between heavy pants as the flare in her eye seem to flicker, but not die out. "And you all were idiots not to follow his advice and run." She wheezed.

"Shut... up!" Jaune roared as he staggered to get up, pain lancing through his left calf, causing him to glance over to see that his shield had done it's job... only not good enough.

Damnit!

A glass shard had spearheaded it's way onto his left leg, planting itself there permanently and only getting worse as the heat started to grow ever so closer.

"Jaune..." Nora groaned as she held her head with one hand, eyes dilating as it lazily roved over to Cinder, who had one eye and both palms on fire, only to widen when both orbs looked down at the unmistakable sillouethe beneath her feet. "No..." She muttered.

"You should have gotten out when you'd had the chance." Cinder mocked as she held an arm out. "You will soon join him."

"Nora! Grab Ren!" Jaune commanded as he pointed to the unconscious eastern boy, littered with gashes that tore of his trousers and clothing, but most noticeably, a huge gash that cut across his forehead. Jaune looked behind the eastern gunman to see that the chamber Pyrhha was supposed to climb into had a trace of red on it, along with a slight indent, confirming his fears. "Pyr?! Pyrhha!"

"I-I'm..." Pyrhha's small voice echoed off the walls from somewhere behind him. "Here..."

Jaune turned around in an attempt to hone in at the source of the voice. "Pyrhha, thank god you're-" His tounge was caught in a deep gasp as he felt a lump travelling up his throat the moment he saw the state his girlfriend was in.

Her shield had done it's job to protect the important parts of her body, unfortunately...

It wasn't as wide as his.

"J-Jaune..." Pyrhha limped as she grabbed onto her heel with one hand, which had a majority of it covered in blood, almost flooding her entire foot while the other grabbed onto her stomach, mere inches under her rib cage as a huge gash tore itself across the bronze armour the champion was wearing, dragging a red streak of blood that spluttered on the floor whenever she limped. "I... "

"Grh... "Jaune grit his teeth as he wracked his brain on what to do, before rushing off to help his girlfriend by propping up her already weakened body before him.

"I-I... I'm sorry." She muttered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Shh, save your energy." Jaune whispered in reassurance. "It's not your fault."

"Oh, how sweet." Cinder said in a sinister chuckle as she held out one hand, causing it to light up as she regained control of her powers. "Die happy, and join your headmaster!"

It combusted into flames a few seconds later, causing Cinder to roar in pain as she reeled backwards.

"W...what?" Jaune asked.

"Go." A feminine voice echoed off the walls in a commanding tone from behind him. "Run! I'll cover you!"

"She's... awake?" Pyrhha muttered half lidded, starting to lose consciousness as she was losing blood, fast. "The... maiden...?"

"Y-yeah..." Jaune confirmed as his neck craned for a split second behind him, before meeting lime green once more.

"What are you waiting for?!" Amber screamed on top of her lungs, one eye cyan and blazing furiously with an orange flame. "GO!"

_Blake's POV_

"And here I was worried you've found a replacement stronger then me." Adam sneered as he turned another table, which Yang just leapt over, into sawdust. "Weak humans! You're not even worth fighting!"

"D-don't... hurt... them..." Blake pleaded, being knocked down a few minutes prior, but the other 3 kept the bull faunus distracted and away from her body.

"Rest up Blake!" Weiss yelled as she jabbed Myrtenaster to the ground, causing spikes of ice to jut out in a desperate attempt to cover Blake, only for it to get obliterated by a red wave.

"Weak!" Adam echoed again as he sheathed Wilt and Blush. "I can smell what you all are doing from a mile away. The only reason Blake Belladona isn't dead yet is because you are all still alive."

"Ugh... this is harder then I thought!" Yang admitted as she fired Ember Celica into the man, only to have it parried off by simply pulling his blade out, and retracting it

By the look on her face and the way her eyes glowed crimson ever since she first attacked, she was starting to get annoyed by it.

"H-how do we even beat that?!" Ruby complained as she fired another round, only for the same thing to happen. "His defense is inpenetrable!"

"His Sembelance is like Yang's!" Blake warned as her lips quivered in a painful attempt to get up, pain lanced up her forearms as she staggered, but eventually fell to dodge a red wave of energy that passed over her head. "He charges up, stores it in his sword then sends it back with overwhelming force!"

"So we can't attack him?!" Weiss yelled and send spikes of ice at the man, only for him to dodge with ease. "What are we supposed to do?"

"We can't even get close!" Yang yelled aloud. "He's too fast!"

At that moment, the fight seemed to slow down and eventually, stop as ominous winds started to blow in all directions at once.

"What... was that?" Yang shivered as she landed in front of Blake, and even Adam sniffed the air to search for the source.

Her cat ears twitched, and Adam seemed to pause and look in the same direction she did at the same time. Nothing but a plain wall, glowing orange with the fire that surrounded them, a shattered window in between shattered columns, and yet... one thing was certain.

Something... was approaching, and fast.

_Ironwood's POV_

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter reported as she brisk walked elegantly towards the general in question, who had his whole top torn and shredded into tattered pieces, revealing his muscular upper body and mechanical half as he discussed the situation with Glynda and Qrow beside him.

"You aren't supposed to be here Ice Queen." Qrow mocked as he took a quick swig from his flask.

"Qrow, now's not the time to-"

"Schnee." General Ironwood said in a stern voice in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"I'm just saying you should look after your sister." Qrow said, holding out both hands.

"And you should be looking after your nieces!" Winter snapped back.

"They'll hold. I trained them... or at least, one of them, after all." Qrow smirked. "That's more then enough for me."

"Qrow..." Winter warned, but was cut off as Ironwood sent her a stern glare.

"Have you found our little hacker?" He asked.

"Not yet sir," She reported, briefly sending a fierce glare at the drunkard, before returning her attention to her superior. "But we found something... unorthodox."

"Report."

"Just a little over an hour ago, the Grimm from both Beacon and the city seemed to... retreat."

"Retreat?" The general raised his brow as he looked upwards. "Where to?"

She took out her scroll to show the trio a map of Vale, and then pinched the screen so it would zoom out. Multiple red dots swarmed over what seemed to look like a topographical map of an abandoned city.

"Mount Glenn." Glynda said as she fixed her specs. "But why?"

"Okay, that's at least some good news." Qrow chimed in helpfully, causing the two women beside him to send him angry glares.

"We don't know." Winter answered honestly as she looked back at her scroll. "Qrow... as much as I hate to admit... is right."

"I am?" Qrow blinked owlishly.

"This way, Nevermores and Griffons can't attack the air, whatever is causing this is clearing the skies, so as soon as we noticed this happening, we've sent all the bullheads and other forms of transportation to evacuate the remaining students."

"Okay, so that's definitely a good thing right?" Qrow asked, some degree of honesty in his tone as he was just as confused as to what was going on. "So why do you seem worried?"

"It is a good thing... however..."

"Hm?" The general asked as his brow was raised higher.

"Almost all Grimm activities ceased to exist about 15 minutes ago." Winter said, showing them the time that indicated the when all the red dots dissapeared, bar 1, that was nowhere close to Mount Glenn.

"What?!" Glynda's eyes widened as her mouth opened and closed. "James, did you..."

"No..." Ironwood muttered. "All my ships were taken down by that vagabond, and so were my automation units, there was no way I could send a bombing run all the way to Mount Glenn, the virus had spread throughout my scroll, meaning I couldn't call any backup from Atlas, even if I did it would take too long for them to arrive, so the only way I could be responsible for that, was if I had my master control ship."

"Also..."

"Great." Qrow rolled his eyes. "More surprises."

"Something is approaching Beacon, en route from Mount Glenn, with speeds approaching Mach 2."

"Mach 2?!" Ironwood almost shouted. "We haven't even developed the technology to reach a quarter of that speed yet!"

"Impossible... a new species of Grimm?" Glynda asked herself as she held a hand to her chin in thought. "A cannibalistic Grimm?"

"And it seems to be travelling alone sir." Winter finished as she showed the red dot in question already close to Beacon's walls, while there was one more approaching the city in a much slower pace.

"Wait... you did say _almost_ all Grimm activies." Qrow pointed out.

"That, I did." Winter confirmed.

"So... what's left?"

Winter rubbed her hands as if she was cold, _almost_ causing Qrow to smirk and make a joke about how her name suits her current attitude.

Almost.

**ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

"That, Qrow." Winter pointed as the monstrous shadow passed over them, spewing black pools that were spawning Grimm around the quartet, each beating of it's wings causing colossal gusts that almost blew them off their feet, had Winter's quick reflexes not kicked in and stabbed the ground with her unsheated sabre to conjure a huge, black Glyph underneath them.

"That's what's left."

"No..." Qrow's eyes widened as he sprinted off. "NO! This can't be happening! Not again! Ruby! Yang!"

"Where are you going?!" Winter snarled as she held out her sabre before her, but Qrow completely ignored her, not even looking back once.

"Leave him be." Ironwood commanded, and at the last moment, changed his mind. "In fact, he was right, you should go with him, see to it that your sister, Weiss Schnee is okay."

"But sir-"

"That is an order." The general said, his tone flat and cold amongst his chiseled features. "Go."

...

...

"Yes Sir." The Specialist saluted, though the way her lips twisted into a smirk hinted she was hoping that the General gave that order way earlier.

"Stubborn, as always." Ironwood sighed as an Ursa Major levitated behind him, before turning around and putting a bullet in it's head.

"She was trained under you after all." Glynda smirked back as she swiped her crop, causing the Ursa to crash into it's peers.

_Shift_

"Fools..." Amber muttered under her breath as she watched the team of students board the elevator, wearing expressions mixed of defeat, relief, anger and gratefulness helplessness and sorrow welling up inside them as they wanted to help, but knowing they won't do much good in their current state they are in right now.

As they entered the elevator, they, escpecially the blonde one, nodded off their thanks, and sent her a look with a clear, but silent message.

'Win.'

"Regretting your decision already Amber?" Cinder snarled as the elevator doors clicked shut, and the group to ascend. She transformed her arm that was struck earlier to that of a Grimm, twisting and turning in an unnatural way that would have broken it's elbow before a black mass took over, slithering over the whole length of the limb as white claws pertuded out. "Remember this?" She asked in a sadistic grin. "Now be a good maiden, and stay still."

"You challenge me with trickery?" Amber asked.

"Trickery?" Cinder asked, confused. But she suddenly burst out laughing. "You're referring to Emerald's illusions aren't you? What did you expect us to do? Play fair? Now I'm here to claim what's mine, I shall redeem the magic that's rightfully min-"

"I don't believe in maAAaaAAaaaaagicck." Amber chanted. "OnWaaards!"

...

...

"What?!" Cinder asked, no- shrieked in confusion as the ground started to rumble.

"You flaming Idiot!" Amber yelled as she conjured up a flaming ball of what looked like a mix of molten iron and concrete drawn from the walls and merging them into one, before slingling her arms forwards and sending it hurtling towards Cinder. "Take this!"

_**A/N**_

**And here I thought writing Psycho Smile's bit was hard... trying to get into the mind of Adam, having the edge and somehow having to make it look cool at the same time is just... no.**

**Like Evans said, it's Kringy, with a capital K.**

**I'm off to wash my brain with some milk now, definitely have to wash off that bitter taste in my mouth. Writing him was a definite challenge and took the longest.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 38): Hahaha, take it easy there bruh, you'll see more of her in the future, that much is clear. Oh really? And I was so sure that most SI/OC's, or Jaune as the main character fics (I'm looking at you, Coeur) almost always change the way the fall happens. Then again, most SI/OC's I read never even make it to S3 before they go off on an eternal hiatus. Well... wow uhh... I'd never thought I'd see the day I made a fan of my story from the very first day xD, not having english as a first language, this means a lot to me, so thank you so much. Looking back now though... I think it's pretty cringeworthy how bad and short it was for the first few chaps when I was experimenting with first person, might wanna go back to rewrite that for the newer people.. ah well, ya live and learn. About them being personalities tho uhh... they're... really based off my real life close friends, so yes we are real people, all of us, I couldn't really do this without a pigment of their personalities. Obviously some of them I exagerrate, though which stuff is true about us, and which is not, I'll leave that to you to decide.**

**Francis (Chapter 38): Yeah, I hate me too sometimes.**

**DankAnon** **(Chapter 38): Louis: ...**

**Evans: ...**

**Kevin: *Smack!***

**Derrick: Fuck yeah!**

**Adrian: O...kay.**

**Dwiki: No fair! Why can't I be- *SMACK* Why me?!**

**Guest (Chapter 38): Correct on the former (Surprised nobody pointed that one out yet) Wrong on the latter (They've seen what Dwiki's face already.)**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N**

**Apologies for the delay of this chapter.**

**Had to take a break to regain direction, re reading most of my chapters and attempting not to cringe and fix past mistakes. Also had to re write almost the entirety of this chapter since some stuff was better decided to be pushed to the next chalter. It just doesn't feel right to cram it into this one. ****Also also, life. Anyways...**

**Over a hundred likes n follows on this fic... and almost 30k views in total.**

**Well... Damn. That escalated very quickly. Another milestone reached. We finally did it! Thank you guys a lot! I appreciate it!**

_Raven's POV_

A soft thunk could be heard as something landed softly on a small branch that grew on a decently grown tree. The leaves bunched up perfectly to disguise the small figure from any external set of predatory eyes, yet at the same time, parted well enough for the minuscule presence to have perfect view of the chaos befalling what used to be, a peaceful place for the young to study.

_Still waging children for your own pitiful war I see._

_You've grown more senile then I thought._

_When will you ever learn from your mistakes, old man?_

The raven craned it's neck as it looked downwards, it's red, beady eyes gleaming from what little light that poured in from the veil of leaves and twigs as it peered through one of the shattered windows that resided to it's left, where it has a clear view of a group of exhausted girls that were close to being defeated, along with the crimson haired man strolling towards them, who looked far from tiring out.

_On the train, you let a man who was trying to strike a deal with the enemy to prioritize survival._

_That was smart of him, putting the survival of both you and him as a prime concern rather then charging in like an idiot._

_Unlike someone I once knew..._

_..._

_However..._

_Now, he's nowhere to be seen._

_He chose to save you, letting you live up your life carefreely up until now._

_Let's see if his actions was worth his time._

_Show me just how strong you are..._

_Yang._

_Cinder's POV_

"I'll kill you!" Cinder shouted in outrage as she avoided the amalgamation of incendiary mass that was comparable to a miniature sun, slung by the now fully awake Fall Maiden. "I'll kill you and take those powers that's destined to be mine!"

Even though the maiden was covered in battle scars, facing her current assailant, she looks very calm and collected as she proceeded to ignore Cinder. In a display of what power she has left, she flicked her hands to her side, holding out both arms extended, and pointing them towards the cold, concrete floor to hover a good 3 or so meters above ground. The fire in her eyes continued to flicker furiously between lemon yellow and cyan, altering the shade of the flame along with it.

"Don't fight it... please, I'm trying to help you." Amber whispered under a muttered breath.

"Are you telling yourself what to do when facing one such as I?" Cinder chuckled darkly, though internally she hoped it too good to be true. "It's good advice."

"Nope."

"What?!" She shrieked furiously whilst her brows furrowed and mouth twisting into a snarl.

"That's not advice." Amber confirmed as her now cyan eye shone brightly in the dim chamber, crushing Cinder's hope of it ever being an easy fight. "That's a warning... yours, specifically."

"You'll die, and I'll take what rightfully belongs... to me!" She hissed and held out both arms to the side, conjuring up her signature twin blades as her blazing eyes darted from side to side.

"How cAn Such as yOu hoPe to StAnd aGaINst mEeeee?!" Amber regained her smirk as she held out a blazing palm, causing the ground below Cinder to glow with an orange hue, before a huge pillar of raging fire erected not soon after, scorching the walls on either sides and painting them as black as charcoal as the fire licked higher up, reaching heights that might very well warded any unwanted intruders off, if the intense change in temperature wasn't warning enough that is.

"Gah!" Cinder yelped out in pain as she tried to pat the embers off her charred ornamental long dress, doing her no good within the firey prison she was trapped in. With an annoyed and frustrated scowl, her hand sliced the air, resulting in an explosive gust of wind that exploded outwards, making the flames around her dwindle and eventually, flicker out of existence. "Don't underestimate me!"

"I've taken you down before!" She snarled as she followed up the assault by copying Amber's actions a few seconds later, but the pure maiden easily fluttered gracefully in the air, dodging her attacks as though it was child's play. "Even if I needed both my pawns at that time, half of the Fall maiden's power will be enough to compensate!"

"I am my own opponent?" Amber giggled mockingly as she floated to the side giving off a carefree shrug while at it, easily dodging the fireball Cinder threw at her and countered it with a barrage of her own to rain fire down on the battlefield. "This will be difficult!"

"We are nothing alike!" Cinder shrieked in anger as she summoned her signature bow, nocking a glass arrow that seemed to materialize out of thin air in an attempt to shoot the airborne target down, calculating that her crystaline arrows would be much more faster then something like molten rock. "You are weak!"

"Am I?" She smirked, adding insult to injury as she held out both arms out. "Then why didn't you finish me off in one go? Face it, you are nothing! You failed then, and you'll fail now."

"That blasted Hunstman saved you!" Cinder yelled, letting go of the string as the arrow flew with a shrill whistle. "Without him I would be the Fall Maiden by now!"

"Feel the power of my MeEEehgic!" Amber gloated whilst flicking her wrist, the arrow Cinder fired seemingly deciding to change it's course at the last possible moment, passing by Amber's head by mere inches as it landed on the walls behind her.

"You said you didn't believe in magic!" Cinder pointed out as she launched herself towards the graceful girl with both arms outstretched.

_Shit..._

_She still has some of her powers left, more then what I absorbed, in any case._

_I'll can't win the fight like this... she's just going to wear me out._

_Unless..._

The latter responded by hurtling herself downwards, meeting the long haired woman in the middle, expelling raw energy outwards, causing the enclosed space they were in to shake and rumble as the two entangled themselves arm in arm, eyes boring into each other's souls in a fierce battle of fire against fire.

Cinder angrily ground her teeth so hard they might've shattered as she crashed, right back down to where she started as a crater started to form beneath her feet as her heels dug into the ground, causing her knees to buckle and pain to lance upwards towards her thighs as she scrunched her eyes shut, and tried her hardest not to think about it.

She then bent her legs down in an attempt to build some momentum, all while rotating her upper body so that the brown haired girl above her floated in an odd angle, specifically, right above her.

Amber's eyes widened a few seconds later, finally realizing what the red dressed woman was onto.

"Surprise... Bitch." Cinder whispered as she skyrocketed upwards, an explosion in the form of a cone lighting up in a blazing trail of orange flames behind her as she sprung herself like a coiled, winded spring. Waves of rippling, heated air distorted underneath them.

She then further boosted her speed by propelling herself upwards as one arm lay outstretched below her, spewing fire, acting like thrusters from an aerial vehicle.

The two took off like a meteor with gravity flipped on it's head, with Amber, who looked more amused to be caught off guard then pissed as her eyes glared into the latter.

_Crash_

With the speed they're going at, they eventually took the battle outside as the ceiling above them caved in bringing in dust, masonry and all sorts of debris and rubble to rain down on the enclosed space, causing eerie silence to fill the chamber once more.

_Ruby's POV_

"I should have known better then to trust mere humans." Adam seethed, shaking his head in what looks to be a mix between disbelief and annoyance as he turned back to the enemies before him. "She couldn't even deal with the mess that she herself started. And to think that those powers along with a spy was all that it took to convince me..." He scoffed at the ground. "Oh well, they served their purpose, and I've achieved my goal."

"Why are you doing this?!" Ruby pleaded in a desperate attempt to change the faunus leader's mind as she wrapped her fingers around Cresent Rose's hilt even tighter. "Please, stop this! Who are 'they'? We can work together to stop them before it's too late. The Grimm are taking over and if we keep this up, there will be nothing left!"

"Were you even listening human? That's the point!" Adam shook his head, before putting Wilt and Blush back in its sheath with a loud screech that echoed on the walls around them, before deciding that a mere huntress in training isn't worth the time and effort. "I forget how foolish you humans are sometimes. It doesn't matter, you won't last another minute, now stay still and I'll end this as soon as possible!"

_Not good!_

A red wave tore the ground not a second later, causing Ruby's eyes to widen as she lurched off the side and into a blur of red, only to land on her sister, who was propping a half lidded heiress who seemed to gain an injury somewhere along the line on the lower parts of her body, though no blood is visible, so that was probably a good thing.

"Blake..." Yang whispered, knowing very well that her movements are bound by the incapacitated heiress, and knowing very well leaving her would be more then a bad idea since the faunus leader is going to aim for her first. He very well made that point clear when they started this bout. "A bit of help here?"

"I..." Blake winced getting up as she held one hand to her injured side, probably having a few bruised ribs from being crushed by one of the pillars. Thankfully, her aura had mitigated most of the impact that would have shattered her skull. "I don't know how." She admitted at last. "He was never the type to show any weakness, no matter how close we are. Also..." Her tone dropped to a whisper. "Someone's approaching."

"Not a clue huh?" Yang let out a defeated chuckle as her eyes roamed around, scanning the openings they've made throughout the battle and peering outside, in desperate hopes that Blake sensed an ally that she could call out for help.

"I'll give you a few options on what's going to happen next." Adam chuckled darkly as he savored the helpless expressions worn by each and every member of the team before him.

"Oh?" Yang questioned, knowing very well that dragging out the battle is better than wasting stamina fighting. "What would those options be?"

"You either die here and now," Adam said as he crouched into a stance once more, fingers hovering above the hilt of his blade. "Or you could die... Eventually."

"Is there a third option?" Yang scoffed. "Cause I don't like either one."

"Admit it, even you humans have to see that this is all but futile. You've worn yourselves out by running around in circles, whereas I have not even moved a single step away from when we started. Give both Blake and the Schnee up now, and I _might _ even consider giving you a head start to run off."

Adam's eyes then bore into the heiress in question. "The Schnee's head... Would make a fine collection when it sits decapitated on a pedestal."

"Over my dead body." Yang growled under her breath.

"So be it." Adam scoffed off casually, as if he'd done his best to show some form of mercy, which was honestly, not at all.

Being the leader of Team RWBY she was supposed to be, Ruby kept her eyes on the dangerous foe before her and grit her teeth in an attempt for something to be used against him.

Anything in fact, would be good right now.

_He's too powerful!_

_Each time we throw anything, especially a heavy blow, he'll just absorb it with his sword and send it back at us! _

_Safe zoning and throwing attacks from afar won't help either..._

_It'll just give him more reaction time to draw his blade from his sheath._

_..._

_It's no use..._

_He's leagues beyond us..._

_He doesn't have any weaknesses._

_Except..._

Ruby's eyes then roved over to the blade, widening in realization.

_His sword!_

_He always uses it to charge up his attacks._

_Without it he should go down easily enough. We need to disarm him._

_However... _She thought as she glanced at her sister, now beside her, hefting a panting heiress by her shoulder.

_If Yang gets too close, he'll just fight like the swordsman that he is. Even without charged attacks, and even with Yang's strong aura, there's no guarantee that wouldn't hurt._

_With his semblance, he could easily be on the same plane as Uncle Qrow or dad..._

_So how do we disarm him without getting too close?_

_"_Still not done yet?" A calm, yet stern voice full of confidence called out from behind the bull faunus, startling the quartet, and causing them to avert their already alerted eyes to the figure now entering through the hole in the wall made by an earlier assault. "I thought you'd be done by now."

"Stay where you are human." Adam commanded begrudgingly without so much as turning his head around. "I didn't ask for your help."

The man ignored his warning and proceeded to head in with overwhelming confidence, keeping his back straight and chest held up high with both hands behind his back. He revealed himself to be wearing a loosely worn black tie, with a dark grey overcoat with yellow linings, and trousers of the same color. His yellow-buttoned undercoat clung tightly onto his slim built figure, while he wore a wine colored waistcoat that matches his finger-less gloves.

_Oh no..._

_We're having trouble even facing off one opponent._

_There's more?!_ Ruby asked herself as her eyes roved over to her team.

_Not good... As much as I hate to admit it he's right._

_Most of us are worn out at this point, and Weiss is injured._

_What do we do?_

_..._

_What could we do?_

His thick mustache twitched in annoyance as he paid the girls no mind, keeping his stern, green eyes on the crimson haired faunus.

"I thought Cinder said you were the best of your kind. Looks like she was wrong yet again." He sighed as he closed his eyes. "Well... it wouldn't be the first time."

"Watch your tongue, human." Adam snarled, but kept his line of sight on the team of girls before him. "This was not part of the deal."

"She did say you were a stubborn one." The man waved off as he observed the team before him that was giving his accomplice trouble. "She may be egocentric, but she isn't foolish enough to upset her grace. Support was requested, and even if I myself personally found it quite amusing for her to come begging for our help, I never thought it was actually necessary. Until..." He said as he scanned the 4 girls from head to toe. "Now. It looks like even impotent students are giving you trouble."

"I could've gotten rid of them whenever I wanted to." Adam snarled.

"So why haven't you yet? In fact..." The man mused as he rubbed his chin with a bemused expression. "They all seem... untouched, except for the Schnee, none of them are even close to dying."

"They're exhausted. I was just 'wrapping things up'. Besides, Blake hasn't seen any of her friends die yet." Adam sneered. "But she's about to."

"I think your runaway has suffered plenty." Arthur mused, watching the cat faunus struggle to even walk straight, leaning on one leg for support. "You've had your fun."

"Her humans are still in one piece. I'm not through yet."

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?"

"Who are you?!" Ruby yelled, reminding the two that they were not alone.

The sudden interruption diffused the little scuffle the two had, causing them to pause and glance at the source of the new intrusion.

"Where are my manners?" The man asked himself as he took a mockingly low bow, keeping his back straight the entire time. "My name, is Arthur Watts. I don't suppose you know what's going on, for you are but pawns in training, destined to fight a war that isn't even yours."

"A war?" Yang questioned. "Pawns? You're not making sense."

"If only you know the truth." Arthur sighed as he rubbed the space between his eyes. "That omnipotent fool really should know better. Even I wouldn't be so immoral as to send children to war. Alas, the Queen's orders are to get rid of every and any who stand in her way."

"T...that coat..." Weiss muttered as she gasped for air, but kept her arm on her bruised thigh. "He's from... Atlas."

"You know him?" Blake asked, holding an arm on her bruised ribs as she tried her hardest not to wince.

"My my, quite the perceptive one, for a spoiled brat." Arthur said in an impressed tone as he took off a glove and tossed it over. "If only you'd stay in Atlas Academy instead of moving to Beacon, then maybe you would not have to witness such an unsightly scenery, and the SDC would've still had a heiress to take the throne."

"They're mine." Adam reaffirmed, sparing what seemed to be a glare behind his mask, aimed towards at his ally. "Stay out of it."

"You've had your chance." Arthur said, holding both hands in front of him as an electrical arc hopped from the tip of his finger to the other. It then cackled from his head, all the way to his toe, somehow avoiding to char his clothes, which remained intact, simultaneously charging up the air and causing goosebumps to travel down team RWBY's spines. "I'm here to speed things up."

"And what makes you think me fighting alongside _a_ human is gonna resolve this?"

"First off, I am the Queen's right hand, one of the Elite 4 which her grace has picked personally and given her utmost trust to. And second... " His mustache twitched as his lips twisted into a sinister smirk. "I never said I came alone."

"Yang look out-!" Blake tried in a desperate attempt of a warning, but it was too late.

Maniacal laughter boomed through the shattered windows behind them, echoing through the walls around them as a brown rope wrapped around Yang's legs, causing her to faceplant on the floor with a loud thud, effectively causing the heiress to go down with her, body tumbling between the red hooded leader and the cat faunus.

"Yang!" Blake yelled aloud, but was silenced as she seemingly flew back as the brown rope from earlier slammed into her core.

The hair stood on the back of her neck as Ruby spun around to try and acknowledge at yet another new presence that had the guts to not only trip her sister, but also attack her friend, only to be immediately sent away in the same manner as Blake as a boot planted itself on her core, all the air from her lungs expelled outwards with overwhelming force in a small fraction of a second as the impact sent her tiny frame spiraling into one of the pillars, shattering the structure with her back in the process.

"What about your human?" Adam questioned, unfazed by the new intruder that landed beside him. "Judging by these storms they're brewing, shouldn't you concern yourselves with her instead of me?"

"The faster we finish the bout here, the faster we can leave. And besides..." Arthur shrugged, holding a hand to cover his face as another violent gust of wind made it's way inside the ruined building, causing waving folds to ripple across everybody's clothing. "I've already sent someone else her way."

_Cinder's POV_

"How does it feel, to have your own powers thrown back at you?!" Cinder cackled as the clouds atop her darkened to near black, causing yellow lightning spewing outwards to strike Amber, only for her to return it with a storm cloud of her own with the same ferocity, except that her's was a blue hue in color.

"You're nowhere close to the level of power you wish to achieve." Amber taunted as she dodged another large bolt of lightning thrown at her with a simple shrug. "And you never will be at this rate."

"Shut up!" Cinder roared, lightning striking the tip of the arrow she summoned out of nowhere, making the tip ignite and glow white hot with raw power.

Letting go of the string, the arrow whistled through the air, while Amber just sighed in annoyance as she held out her hand, striking it with a bolt of lightning that reduced Cinder's bow to dust in a fraction of a second, and branched off like a tree to get rid of the glass arrow, which shattered right down the middle before it's particles got whisked away in the wind.

"Give up." Amber said simply, lips flat and expression unreadable. "Yield now and I might consider letting you live off your pitiful life in peace."

"And what makes you think I'm giving up that easily, when my very goal is right in front of my eyes? All I have to do is kill you, and those powers will come flowing inside me and-"

Cinder made to raise her eyebrow as Amber just giggled in response.

"Man, did you have to make it sound so sexual? I knew you were stubborn but still..." Amber managed to say as she wiped a tear from her eye. "You're really starting to be a real thorn on my side."

"Was I not before?" Cinder smirked grimly. "I thought taking away almost half of your powers would prove that I was at least that much of a burden in your life."

"No, not really." Amber shrugged as a small tug on her lip formed an exhausted smile. "But you're starting to be."

"Oh?" Cinder chuckled darkly. "And why is that?"

"Haven't you noticed that I made no attempt to attack you yet?" Amber snickered as her eyes glowed, turning them milky white as her blue orbs ceased to exist, almost merging with the blue flame, the storm cloud above her deforming into a puffy vortex as a torrent of wind that soon formed into a tornado like barrier, shredding the fallen leaves and twigs that it brought up from the ground along with it. "That doesn't mean I couldn't though, and you just wasted your only chance of running away."

"Who's running?" Cinder asked as her lips mimicked Amber's, however her smile was way more sinister and cocky, almost victorious even, as if she'd achieved it already. "The way I see it, you should be the one who should back out and run."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I didn't come alone."

Amber's eyes widened as the torrent abruptly stopped, turning around to be greeted by rows of enormous teeth, along with a deafening roar that almost blew her back as she held out her hands in front of her face.

"Argh!" Amber yelled as the dragon clamped down it's jaws on her as it tried to swallow her whole.

Cinder cackled victoriously as she kept her gaze at the maiden struggling to keep the dragon's gargantuan jaws open. "Do you think I'd be so stupid that I wouldn't see that I'm giving you a field advantage just by taking the fight outside? I've learned not to underestimate my opponents, Amber, no matter how feeble they are. Perhaps you ought to do the same."

"You're... joking..." Amber continued to struggle for words and dominance as the jaws continue to close in on her, even going as close to a few inches away from her face while spittle traveled down her forearm, causing her legs to buck and squat lest she wants her knees to get torn in two under tremendous pressure as a bestial growl echoed throughout the tunnels that were it's throat.

"Nope." Cinder snickered deviously as she nocked an arrow she knew Amber wouldn't be able to stop. "And just like that, I am now...

Finally...

The Fall Maiden!" Letting the glass arrow sail through the air.

_Yang's POV_

"HahaHAhAHa!" The brown haired man cackled as he landed between the two enemies before them. "We will make sure her grace gets her way. No pawns of Ozpin will stand in her path!"

"I'm guessing this means that 'Help' you sensed earlier isn't close by huh?" Yang chuckled in defeat, propping her body up with both arms as she turned to face her black haired partner.

Blake whimpered as she staggered over, holding her mid section that seemed to have gained a nasty bruise from the earlier impact as a trickle of blood drilled down a split lip, adding pain towards her ribcage from earlier, indicating she was low on aura.

"No one's coming." Blake managed to say, trying to gulp down her fear and attempting to keep her legs from trembling any further.

The truth was far worse.

"It wasn't help I've sensed." She admitted. "It's him." She pointed. Now that the figure stopped moving, his shape became clear. It was a brown haired man, a scorpion faunus in fact, with a long cloak that masked most of its body, with the only indication of him being a scorpion faunus hidden, if it wasn't for the bulging tail that bloated the cloth he wore.

"Who... Agh!" Ruby tried as she fell down, clutching onto her stomach.

"Rubes!" Yang shouted and immediately lurched to her side, ignoring the pain that shot her side. "Come on Rubes, get up!"

"Who-"

**ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

The deafening inhumane sound made it's way to their ears, causing some to start trembling, and others to laugh and cheer.

_What... Was that?_

"It's finally here!" The new presence cackled in glee as his eyes flicked to his side's.

"About time." Arthur scoffed. "We went through the trouble of coming here, we might as well get a show out of it."

"Who... are you?" Ruby tried again.

"Who I am..." The faunus started. "Matters not to you," He pointed at a hunched over Yang that was prepared to take one for the team if needs be, having both gauntlets extended out as she readied herself to protect her friends. "Or you," He pointed at the fallen heiress, who tilted her head just right to see the 3 opponents she'd been so helpless to help oppose. "Or you," He pointed to Blake, who was in no condition to walk, let alone, fight. "Or... Well actually..."

"You dear..." He continued, ignoring the girls as they tried to stare him down with glares, turning towarss Ruby as his lips twisted into a psychotic grin. "You have silver eyes. And that's a big no no."

Ruby's eyes widened, trying to gulp down her fear as the brown tail behind him twisted and twitched behind him with a crunch to reveal the sharp and pointy end glinting as something dropped from the tip, hissing at it touched the floors that seemed to melt the concrete beneath him.

"Now die!" He yelled and lurched forwards as he flicked his hands to let his weapons out, two gun blades hidden beneath his robes this entire time.

"Ruby!" Blake exclaimed.

"NO!" Weiss shouted.

"RUBY!" Yang yelled, stretching her arm out, knowing that it was a hopeless act as the tip of his tail edged closer and closer.

There was no warning as world around them seemed to explode and implode at the same time as a deafening boom rang in all of their ears, and they seemed to be torn away from the ground by the sheer impact of something crashing in at such high velocity, causing the air to be expelled out of Yang's lungs as her back hit something hard.

As Yang opened her eyes, she didn't see anybody beside her, but then again, weren't there supposed to be walls surrounding them?

The cool night breeze blew gently against her cheek, making her shiver as she turned to face, what was once their cafeteria, now reduced to rubble.

The last thing Yang saw or heard before passing out, at the epicenter of it all, was ominous, bloodcurdling howling that sent shivers down her spine in the form of a jet black silhouette.

_Amber's POV_

**ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

_Shit!_

_I didn't expect it to arrive so soon!_

_Why didn't I even hear or feel it coming?_

Amber's eyes widened in realization.

_Cunning bitch..._

_Using her winds to distract me from the wind it emitted from it's wings while using her control over Grimm to keep it's mouth shut._

_That was her plan all along..._

_It was never to let her finish the fight on her own._

"GAH!" Amber yelped as her knees finally gave away with the aid of Cinder's arrow being embedded in her, causing the dragon Grimm to take this opportunity and clamped it's jaws down in an attempt to swallow her whole.

Amber managed to roll to the side, or what was equivalent of it, in mid air, as pain lanced through out her torso, spreading through the entirety of her body

"AAAARGH!" She screamed out in pain as blood squirted out of the left side of her naval, while the dragon just swung it's head, causing Amber to enter free fall.

"Son of a bitch." Amber cursed as she tried to break her fall, using what dwindling powers she has left to propel her body in a desperate attempt to cushion the impact.

In the end, all she managed to pull off was a clumsy thrust to the side as her back hit the tall tower dragging some skin off her back with it, before slamming down on the floor with a loud crunch.

"GAAAAH!" She shouted out in pain as nothing short of it Lance's through her arm, a white structure protruding out of her elbow by a mere inch, but the pain was more than enough to almost make her pass out.

Turning her body facing up with her good arm, as Amber lay defeated on the courtyard with a chunk of her mid section torn and profusely bleeding on her left, she couldn't help but pull off a bitter laugh, even if it hurts.

"Have I finally broken you?" Cinder asked with a victorious smirk as she landed softly several meters away. "Or have you finally come to accept your inevitable fate?"

"I don't think you get how a good story works." Amber replied as she kept her gaze locked onto the dragon atop the tower, who seemed it comfortable enough to perch itself on, gaining a raised brow from Cinder, who just returned it with a puzzled look.

"A good story huh?" Cinder cackled and stretched out her arms to the sides, as if addressing an audience. " If you're talking about what's happening right now, then I'll admit that this is good story. For me that is, but I'm sure that's not what you're referring to, so, tell me, what do you find so funny in a situation where you're about to lose your life, knowing that your powers will be used to kill so much more in cold blood."

"You see, in every good story, when there's a character on the losing side and all hope is lost, usually on the verge of death, there will always be this thing called a Deus Ex Machina."

"Humor me." Cinder said as she held out her grimmified arm, which lit up to deliver the finishing blow. "Before I put an end to your miserable life for good, tell me what that is."

"Well." Amber sat up casually with her good arm propping her body up as she wore a shit eating smirk. "Since you asked nicely, a Deus Ex Machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and seemingly unlikely occurrence, typically so much as to seem contrived. Its function can be to resolve an otherwise irresolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or act as a comedic device."

"Oh?" Cinder chuckled darkly, settling on a cruel smirk as the palm at the end of her grimmified arm glowed like embers fresh from a fireplace. "So tell me, do you think this deus ex macina or whatever you called it, is gonna happen to you? That your problem will just magically solve itself?"

"One can only hope." Amber shrugged honestly, limping her broken body back as her spine touched the foot of the tower behind her before wincing as she held her injured side, which was still spouting out blood all over the place. "But if there's anything I've learnt so far, it's that fairy tales exist in this world."

"Ramble all you want about your nonsensical logic. It's not gonna help you in any way, you delusional sorry excuse of a maiden. In fact, you know what?" Cinder seethed after a second of consideration, extinguishing the flame in the palm of her hand as she waltzed closer and closer. "I'm not even in a rush to kill you, I'll take your powers away manually, watch you suffer, and savor every moment as I see you writhe and struggle in pain, and, just so you know? I'll be enjoying every second of it." She said, her arm lashing, swishing and hacking the air like a hungry serpent spotting it's prey that's cornered by it's venom.

"And you know what? A fairy tale is technically, a story." Amber continued as she took Cinder's advice as she edged ever closer, letting go of the wound and hiding her good arm behind her back for seemingly no reason. "I don't know about you, Cinder," Amber looked up into Cinder's burning eyes as her lips twitched, and tugged upwards, forming a small, lopsided grin.

Without warning, the temperature seemed to drop and rise at the same time as the still night abruptly became a violent hurricane that sent Cinder's hair flapping on her face in the harsh winds.

"What...? Impossible!" She struggled to say, holding out both arms in front of her face to avoid being blinded by her own hair. "You still have enough strength left in you to- AAAARGH!"

The black streak burst through the courtyard like a meteorite, tearing up most of the ground along with it as Cinder was dragged away by the anonymous presence that left nothing but rubble and devastation in it's path, leaving Amber alone once more as she sighed in relief, taking out her good arm that was lodged in the half melted brickworks on the foot of the tower, and putting it on top of her wound as it started to light up with a soft, warm orange glow.

"But me?" Amber couldn't help but snicker as she closed her eyes, and let her shoulders relax as she attempted to cauterize the wound. "I love myself a good story."

**A/N**

**Ok, I struggled quite a bit on writing this chapter down more then I should have, since it's mostly in the perspective of the villains, and doom and gloom and all that, but there's not much I could do but go through with it.**

**Who knew writing the bad guys would be a pain in the ass?**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**DankAnon (Chapter 39): Louis: "The hell did I do to have a 'Harem Protag' aura?"**

**Kevin: "Clumsy D already has a reverse harem that actively breaks his spirit. That would be us."**

**Evans: "Why does that sound more like Edgy D then it should have?"**

**Paradox0.5White (Chapter 39): Except Ironwood's... And Winter's. Those ships sunk.**

**Francis (Chapter 39): Then what do you like?**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N**

**Music recommendations will now be put as an optional preference in [Brackets] for certain scenes, obviously you don't have to do this if you don't want to or can't listen and read at the same time, it's just an optional thing for fun, since I know full well Evans does this on his own when he's reading this fic.**

**Vol 7 trailer is out, and all I have to say is...**

**"I wAs hOnEstly eXpeCtINg tHinGs to go a lOt rOuGhEr."**

**Damnit Qrow... Not again.**

_**?**__ POV_

Somewhere in the vast expanse of green foliage near the abandoned city of Mount Glenn, mossy tree trunks that had been growing for decades lay disarrayed in a random manner, just like petals off a freshly blown dandelion, flatly dispersed and separated in a wide area from the place that was once their home.

What stood out at the clearing however, was not the fact that a large chunk of the forest was basically uprooted and destroyed, cleaved and massacred, but the crimson glint in contrast to the expansive dark zone, two glowing red orbs, right at its epicenter.

The red eyes gleamed, basking in self-satisfaction, as they scanned the sea of black just like an artist finally pleased with their creation after months of trial and error.

While some limbs twitched, most lay still. A mountain of corpses, they were. Once alive... but not anymore. Now, what remained was only piles of disemboweled carcasses that lay permanently eviscerated with no hope of returning back to life. The dark being then resumed a hunched posture, it's chest heaving up and down, taking in deep breaths as it continued observing it's killings, the stockpile of bodies it was knee-deep in while they started to hiss and sizzle, billowing into large plumes of black smoke as they evaporated, merging with the cool night air as they returned to mother nature.

What was, in reality, less than an hour, felt seconds to the brute as it's neck craned downwards, glancing down at it's bloodied arms, before it's lips twisted in murderous glee.

With a heavy sigh, it cracked it's neck from side to side, popping some joints as if an athlete winding down from a regular day at the gym, and gave a low groan of appreciation as something seemed to crack, snap, twist, and splinter, all at the same time.

All the while it's face set unreadable and expressionless glanced up longingly towards the shattered moon of Remnant.

As the bodies completely dissapated, they unveiled large puddles of red, visible even from an aerial perspective, like large, red polka dots, along with other remaining insides and splattered guts that may have once belonged to an Ursa Major, or an Alpha Beowolf.

With the amount that lay scattered, no one could tell which is who's.

Finally satisfied, it picked itself up as something heavy made a loud thunking noise beside him, before shaking off the excess gore off it's hard skin.

Throwing its arms back, it bent its body backwards all while making a blood curling

_**AAAAWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**_

Yet, it seemed to be a victorious one that pierced the silent night sky.

It didn't help make the air surrounding it even more unsettling and eerie, as it's cry echoed throughout the ruins of the isolated city, making it's presence known upon those who dare challenge it.

Once it finished it's battle cry, it's neck snapped at a certain direction so quickly, it might've gotten whiplash, not that it looked like it cared from the lack of reaction it showed.

It's attention locked in the direction of the city of Vale as it dragged something heavy sluggishly by its side, taking a large chunk out of the ground which seemed to melt like butter, impaling the mixture of red coating on green, before chanting in a deep, reverberating voice, as if it was speaking directly from its throat...

"**Little pigs...**

**Little pigs... **

**...**

**...**

**Let. Me. In."**

_Adam's POV_

"Were you even listening human? That's the point!" Adam shook his head.

_**? **__POV_

_"_**Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin?**"

The air around it vibrated, as it crouched into a marathon runner's position, turning into lazy waves as if it was heated up by a plane's exhaust.

Without warning, it lurched forwards, an abrupt crater blowing up along with a rain of dust where it once stood, whisking away fallen leaves, twigs, gravel and debris as a cone-like vortex started to form behind the dark creature as it literally covered leaps and bounds in a matter of seconds

"**Then I'll huff...**"

"**And I'll puff...**"

It's speed bolstered immensely as seconds turned into a minute, enormously boosting it's acceleration by tenfold, and soon, anything that tried to stand in it's path was completely annihilated as it's body started to glow like fresh embers, resembling a black meteorite entering orbit.

"**And I'll blow your goddamn house in!**"

Qrow's POV

_Come on... _The crow thought as he flapped his wings as he glided perpendicular to Beacon's walls, right at its outer rim, in a desperate effort to spot even a tiny speck his nieces.

_Come on pipsqueak, surely both you and firecracker wouldn't be ones to pop a squat at a time like this... Where the hell are you two? _He asked himself as he scanned the myriad of dots that were students of mixed academies, spreading around with panicked looks, mostly running away from...

_Is it just me or did the winds just get a lot harsher than usual?_

As Qrow looked dead ahead, and immediately slowed down his pace to a halt, almost rubbing his eyes and almost causing himself to gouge his own eyes out, forgetting that he was in his avian form.

"Amber?" He asked himself whilst observing the two figures, one clearly a foe, hovered in mid air, locked in furious combat against one another while thunder clashed against one another.

The cloud the assailant had however, was oddly shaped, just like a...

_Oh... fuck._

Before he could think any further, the clouds broke apart to reveal a gargantuan beast, opening it's jaws wide open, revealing lots of razor sharp teeth that would've torn through concrete and steel in one go.

Before Qrow could get in over his head however, it was but a tiny glimmer at the edge of his peripheral vision, but it caught his attention nevertheless, an unmistakable reflection of red gleaming metal, shining through a shattered window by the cafeteria.

_Is that... _

_It is!_

_Ruby's scythe!_

_But... __Amber... _He thought as he looked left and right, if he was in his human form he would've probably bit his lip so hard it bled as the drunk swordsman tried to get his priorities straight.

_Fuck!_

Was there ever a doubt?

_This is gonna suck._

_ Oz is gonna have my head if he knows about this._

"Hold on pipsqueak! Uncle's coming!" Qrow yelled aloud as he dived in, hoping that the air against his streamline body could drown out the loud cries of the maiden as she hurtled towards the ground, spiralling to scrape her back against the hard walls of the CCT tower, before a cloud of dust kicked up as the Fall Maiden slammed on the ground with a startled yelp.

With the thoughts of his nieces being in danger, didn't notice the dark presence rapidly barreling it's way, tearing through Beacon's courtyard, and certainly didn't notice it heading right for the cafeteria until...

_BOOM_

"RUBY! YANG!" He screamed out in panic as the shockwave caused his tiny form spiraling backwards, doing cartwheels and backflips in the air, only managing to regain control when what was once a canteen was all but destroyed. "NO!"

_Amber's POV_

"GAAAAAAARRHH! Tsssss Ugh..."

The palm's orange glow flickered and died down as Amber's chest rose and fell in exhaustion, her body covered in a splatter of blood, sweat and grime, grinding her teeth and avoiding to bite her tongue throughout the whole process, fighting against the pain that shot through her sides, her brain unwittingly transmitting it throughout her body.

_There..._

_That should do it. _Amber sighed internally as she released her arm with a small sizzle, skin red and blistering, suffering either first or second degree burns bubbles formed under her copper skin, but at least the gaping wound was finally sealed.

She kept her good arm, laying it against her other, which remains broken if anything, and she wasn't gonna even attempt to fix that without the risk of the pain causing herself to pass out.

She sighed out in relief, staring up at the gargantuan creature atop her as it perched itself on the tower's flat roof and viewing outwards like a command post, seeking for god knows what, but making no attempt to obliterate or take it down.

_Well... at least the CCT tower is still standing..._

_It's not doing anything to destroy it, it's just chilling on top._

_Not yet._

"I wonder... what do we do with you?" Amber asked herself, shaking her head.

"I would worry about myself first rather then some abomination if I were you." A deep, gruff, masculine voice called out.

_Great..._

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the now empty courtyard towards Amber, causing her to sigh tiredly as she turned to face the towering gruff man making his way towards her, a calm expression in place.

"Hazel." Amber greeted nonchalantly.

"I don't think we've met." The muscular man in an dark green coat that extended all the way to his knees, covering the black tunic he wore within raised his eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks, his alerted expression softening in realization, before doing something equivalent of a disgusted scoff to the side as he decided to cross his arms. "Seer. Cinder warned us about your kind."

"Oh?" 'Amber' chuckled lightly, most probably to avoid reopening her wound. "I wonder what stories that witch had been spreading around."

"Stand down." Hazel commanded. "This isn't even your war."

"It is now." Amber shrugged off with a smirk. "Don't worry though honey, I'm all out of juice, and not the sexy kind."

"Are you trying to get killed?" Hazel asked, cracking his neck from side to side. "If you think delaying the inevitable is gonna help, then you're sorely mistaken."

"I'm just saying, Cinder's worn me out." Amber shot back with an honest shrug. "Though I will say that killing me wouldn't do you any good, since Cinder will no longer be the last person on Ambrer's mind if she passes."

"Oh?" Hazel raised his brow in an amused tone and an even more bemused expression. "You think that just because your presence embody the current Fall Maiden by successfully planting your aura within somehow, that you control who the powers will choose as it's next host?" Hazel asked, cracking his knuckles. "Would you like to test this little theory of yours?"

"What are you rambling about?" Amber waved off with a snicker that was nothing short of mocking. "Nothing as complicated as that. Doesn't your little 'Cinder' have to be alive if you want her to receive my powers?"

"You're saying she'll be dead before you, yourself, die?"

"I know it."

"How can you be so sure of your little... statement?"

"Because _he _is the one facing off against Arthur Watts, and Tyrian Callows along with your pathetic Cinder Fall right now." Amber smirked cockily. "And honestly, if I were you, I'd come to their aid as soon as I can, it would definitely be better then trying to kill me, only for my powers to go to someone you don't know about, or in best case scenario, someone random."

"And why would I do that?" Hazel questioned. "When you are crippled before my very eyes, and I could just kill you right now, while the powers would go to her almost instantaneously, all while she uses it to burn your so called savior alive with the full powers of the maiden?"

"That's because..."

...

"Uhh..."

...

...

...

_Fuck_

_I didn't think this through did I?_

"Well?" Hazel asked impatiently, tapping his foot and cracking his knuckles. "I'm waiting for another good 'excuse' you could muster from that otherworldly brain of yours."

"Uhh... oh look! The ghost of your dead sister!" Amber pointed. "She said to stop in your tracks and turn your life... around?"

"You just sealed your fate." He said with grinded teeth and wide eyes that were full of rage as he squared his shoulders and his knees, wanting nothing more than to snap Amber in two.

_FUCK! _Amber cursed internally as she rolled to the side to avoid the barreling beast of a man built like a brick, made out of nothing but pure muscle as he roared in outrage.

Blake's POV

"Urr...gh..." Blake groaned.

_My head hurts._

_No, scratch that._

_Everything hurts._

_What... happened...? _Blake asked herself as she forced herself to open her eyes.

The first thing she heard was low, reveberating snarling that sounded closer than she would have liked, followed up with a bone chilling howl that caused the hairs at the end of her neck to stand up.

_An... Alpha... Beowolf?_

_..._

_No... An Alpha wouldn't have the strength to blow a hole in a wall, let alone destroy a building._

One eye managed to flutter open, and her initial reaction was to scream the moment she caught sight of the black mass, but managed to stop herself before she could, concealing her fear in a loud gasp as she stood as still as she could.

[Berserk - My Brother (Extended) (Definitive Version)]

The cafeteria they stood in was no more, obliterated into rubble and dust.

Right in the large crater's center, an armor plated figure clad in what appears to be, layers upon layers of jet black steel, covering it's body all the way from head to toe. It's breastplate was formed in a way that it was a sharpened point right at the center of it's rib cage, while it's pauldrons, what could be called it's gauntlets, and tassets were curved to a sharp edge on both the top and bottom that looked like it had been designed for more offense rather than defense.

The helm resembled closely to a Beowolf, but sharpened to a point at the snout and top. Metal teeth formed under and above it's jaws, making the figure look more beast like than human. It lacked the white boney structures extruding out of it's skull, ribs or back, confirming it to be not be a Grimm, but what caused it to stand out the most, was what could be called, it's eyes.

The blood colored visors burned brightly as if staring into the sun itself, shaped like crimson lightning petrified in time. Just by staring into it, even from a good 40 or so meters away, she could feel it's thirst...

It's unadulterated hunger...

It's raw power...

It's...

Rage.

Both rage and anger seemed to emanate and pulsate off the armor, forming an heavy and unsettling aura that caused Blake to lay down instead of getting back up.

**_AAAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO _**

_So much hatred... _Blake whimpered as she weakly attempted to cover her sensitive feline ears to drown out the noise, while her eyes scrunched shut. But to no avail, as her hands didn't even manage to muffle the howl that sounded darker than the evening sky.

It was only then that Blake's amber eyes roved over, noticing something heavy jabbed into the ground. A greatsword seemingly made out of black steel that looked way too heavy to carry by her standards resided beside the dark figure as it held the tip of it's square pommel with an outstretched arm, while the other resided on it's handle, which has a white bandaged cloth wrapped around it.

A simple yet impractical gargantuan cleaver which was easily the same height as the ironclad figure, that looked like it could rip and tear through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter, given that it's wielder has enough strength to even swing it.

_I doubt even Yang would be able to even lift that..._

The whole set was far from being in perfect condition however, the paint being chipped off by scratch marks in multiple parts of it's armor, as if it just endured a convergance of Grimm. Overlaying the scratches, splotches of a dried substance burgundy in color splattered, painting the armor, the most obvious being it's joints, and the whole length of it's blade.

_Wait... is that... what I think it is?_

Taking a deep breath and a leap of faith, Blake's hand roved over to her abdomen, and let out a sigh of relief when she felt that her body was still in one piece.

_But that means..._

Something clicked in her mind as her eyes widened in panic.

"Yang...? Ruby?! Weiss!" Blake managed to croak out weakly, but her voice travelled far enough, and her attempt did it's job.

"I'm... here..." A weak voice croaked back. "I can't move... but I'm here..."

"I'm fine..." A small voice echoed the first. "Yang's unconscious, but she's fine too!" She added after a moment's pause.

Blake's shoulders sagged in relief as she heard those unmistakable, yet familiar voices.

"Are you okay Blake?" Ruby asked out, a soft plop sounding towards her left as she felt a presence settle on her left. Familiar blonde locks fluttered in the air and brushed against her sides, followed by an unmistakable red hood, now torn tatters towards the end from getting blasted off their feet. Her own clothing wasn't looking any better.

"I'm fine..." Blake hissed out in pain as she struggled to move into a sitting position, but with Ruby beside her, with a little hustling and a few cute grunts coming out from the red hooded leader, they managed to get her sitting upright. "But what..."

"I don't know..." Ruby muttered, slumping back down now that she was completely spent as she set Yang to sit lousily beside her partner, with the blonde's head drooping every now and then. "But whoever it is, I just hope it's on our side..."

"Yeah..."

_Me too._

A series of crackling could be heard afterwards as she stared off towards the other side, where all 3 of their opponents before this whole disaster happened staggered up to their feet, with her bastard of an ex jabbing the tip of his blade into gravel that was once the cafeteria walls, and silently cursed under her breath to see them unscathed as their aura seemed more then sufficient to shield them.

As she stared back towards the black figure, she wished that the dried blood on the edge of it's sword belonged to any of her enemies, but alas, one can only hope.

"Did it get to you?" Blake asked instead, knowing that none of them were in any condition to fight.

"What did?" Ruby asked, completely drained of all energy as a wave of exhaustion seemed to wash over her, causing her to slump down, her chest rising and falling as she panted heavily.

"His stinger." Blake pointed out. "It was inches away from your face."

"No it... didn't even manage to graze me." Ruby admitted as she checked her body for any cuts and bruises, but they were all small scratches, but none of it was deep.

"W... what is that?!" The scorpion faunus from earlier finally spoke as it regained it's stature, it's cloak all but blown away as it revealed the full length of his segmented exoskeletal tail, along with a white sleeveless jacket within, that makes him look more like Sun's outfit.

His jaws dropped as he stared at the dark figure, which remained idle and silent. "It's not one of the goddess's creations... is it?"

"Tyrian my dear you are indeed psychopathic, but I doubt you are blind or delusional." Arthur said patting down his now torn and dusty overcloak. "You're seeing the same thing I am. That's not a Grimm. That's a Hunstman."

"What kind of Hunstman has the capability to destroy a building?" Tyrian asked as he shot Arthur an exasperated look. "That's not a Hunstman, that's not even human!" He pointed.

"I doubt it's a faunus." Arthur mused.

"Whatever it is..." Adam said, using Wilt and Blush as a support to prop himself up. "It's clearly against us."

Without warning, the being hurtled something that was sent barreling into the 3 figures, and if it was not for Blake's keen sense, she would have missed the figure in a red dress as she was tossed like a simple plaything.

"Cinder..." Ruby growled, though Blake held out her hand to stop the young leader to get up and taking it out on a potentially dangerous group. "So she was behind all this." she spat.

"You think that's who she referred to when they were praising a 'Queen'?" Blake asked instead.

"Maybe." The red hooded leader's expression hardened into a snarl, which surprised Blake knowing she even had the ability to even be angered.

"Don't even think about it." Blake made to hold out her hand as Ruby made an attempt to get up again, but Ruby shook her head.

"I'm gonna grab Weiss." she said instead. "If that... thing, is capable of destroying a building, then it's better that we get her to us, it's safer than wherever she is." Ruby said as she looked around. "Wait... where is she?!"

"Save your energy." A voice as hard as steel said as a meaty figure set the heiress down gently beside the trio, adding to the pile, and when Blake looked to her side, it was to see that Weiss had her eyes closed as her breaths came out in exhausted gasps.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she checked the heiress's pulse. "I-is she?!"

"She's fine." The man grunted. "Just passed out that's all."

"You're... the paramedic from earlier..." Ruby muttered as she tilted her neck to look up. "What are... you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The pudgy man with spiky hair chuckled, now out of his uniform and into a normal red tee with knee length cargo pants. "Ah well, I don't expect them to tell you all about me anyway, since they were unsure I'd be along for the ride."

"Are you..." Blake hesitated, biting her lip. "Are you gonna kill us?" She managed to get out.

"And why would I do that?" He laughed. "I'm on your side. Besides..." The well rounded man chuckled. "_He_ would never allow it."

_Shift_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tyrian questioned as the trio got up, pushing Cinder off of them not so subtly as her body rolled over to the side. "You were supposed to be claiming the maiden's powers, not hurtling into us from... from... whatever that is!"

"S-shut... u..p..." Cinder hissed with a twinge of agony under her breath as she jabbed her monstrous arm into the dirt, it's nails digging and scraping against gravel as she trembled, forcing herself to stand up on two feet.

"So, did you get what you came here for?" Adam seethed re sheating Wilt and Blush with a loud screech.

"N-not... yet..." Cinder growled, holding up a hand to wipe the side of her head and taking it to the same level as her face. Her eyes widened as fresh blood dripped between her fingers and onto the hard rubble below.

"Useless _human_." Adam scoffed, not even glancing at the woman.

"And already you're out of aura." Arthur chuckled darkly giving up on an attempt to salvage his cloak and tossing it aside as an electrical arc sparked between his palms. "Typical."

"T-that thing... interfered before I could claim the maiden." Cinder snarled, pointing towards the stoic armor frozen in place.

"Looks like you'll be needing our help after all." Tyrian cackled wildly, his tongue lashing out as he made to lick his lips, taking out his arm blades and crouched down with one arm on the floor as he prepared to pounce at any given opportunity.

"If we could _convince_ him to join our side, he would be a great asset." Arthur offered, his eyes flicking towards his two accomplices for a split second.

"And I thought I was crazy!" Tyrian said, shooting Arthur a funny look that was equal parts maniacal and mocking. "Does it look like it could be talked to?!" He pointed at the idle frame that went back to being hunched and staying static with hand outstretched, while the other covered his face as he cackled out his remark.

"It's just another one of Ironwood's machine." Arthur mused, his face calm and full of confidence. "It's probably just new Atlas Tech we weren't informed of yet, a secret weapon old James invented out of fear. A trump card perhaps. All we need to do is find a control panel to access it's mainframe, then upload the same virus that allowed us to take over Ironwood's paladins in the first place." Arthur then took something out of his pocket. "And I happen to have a spare copy... right here."

"Is that it?" Tyrian giggled gleefully, lunging forwards, covering the distance between him and the dark figure in a fraction of a second as his segmented tail wrapped around it's arm. "Too easy."

Without even batting an eye, the armor seemed more amused then anything as it tilted it's head to the side, before yanking Tyrian's tail and slamming his body shards of broken glass and gravel, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Tyrian!" Arthur roared as he tried to free the struggling faunus, flanking at the dark figure's sides with Cinder on the opposite. "I'll try to shut it down, hang on!"

Electricity coursed from his shoulders and onto his palm, charging up the air around the figure. In a flash, purple lightning flew from his arms as it laid outstretched and tore through the figure, electrocuting the dark automaton and causing it to howl out in pain.

"Y-you bitch!" Tyrian cursed as he picked himself up, wiping a finger across his now split lip. "You dare strike me?!" He gestured to himself.

Even though it looked to be bulky in size, the figure is more agile then it looks.

The figure responded by jabbing it's massive steel blade onto the ground, before vaulting itself over the embedded cleaver, taking it's sword along for the ride as the dark figure spun 3 times in the air before bringing his sword down in an overhead swing that would have split Tyrian's whole body clean in two, if it were not for Cinder pushing him out of the way and meeting it with her signature dual blades of her own. Steel on steel rang, and caused a resounding clang that would've deafened anybody fool enough to stand beside it.

"Shit... he's... strong!" Cinder yelled as she crossed both blades in front of her face in an attempt to push the heavy blade away, though she was already bent on one knee as the ground underneath her started to crack and gave away.

A staccato of bullets pinged off it's thick hide, causing it to spin around and roar in the face of the narrow faced faunus that spun and leapt up high as his eyes burned with vengance, wanting nothing more then to kill this black automaton as he slithered into it's guard, jabbing it's breastplate only to chip some paint off.

It threw it's arm back in an attempt to smack the nuisance away, only for it to be caught by something.

Turning it's head left, it snarled at the red dressed woman who managed to seize it's free arm, utilizing her maiden powers to cement herself in place as a rocky structure encased both it's feet, and her own. Her arms glowed orange in an attempt to melt through the armor while Tyrian seized it's mid section in fear of getting tossed around again, while holding both arms and delivering a barrage of bullets.

A deafening roar was the response she got, ignoring the ringing in her ears and taking it as a sign of pain and weakness, she rapidly turned up the heat, her arms turning cherry red in a matter of seconds, before she yelped out in pain as she felt something struck her leg.

The figure tore her free from the rubble as it yanked Cinder up, but an armored sole kept her one feet in place, making a blenching snap as something broke loose.

"AAAARGGGHH-!" Cinder screamed in pain, before immediately being silenced as the dark being gave her a backhanded uppercut that caused her tongue to get caught between her own teeth, the sheer force alone probably snapping it in two, but not before grabbing onto it's wrist with her amorphous arm and twisting it backwards, pulling it's gauntlet backwards in an odd angle as something snapped within.

Cinder fell on the floor, rolling from side to side as she gargled, bathing and frothing from her own blood as she held her grimmified arm onto her thigh where she suffered from more than just a dislocated joint, while the other went between her mouth to her throat as fresh blood continued to pour down the side of her cheeks.

_**AAAAAAAWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **_

It howled loudly and faced the remaining 2 assailants focused in it's vision, ignoring Tyrian's sorry attempts of an assault by blocking a rain of bullets with one gauntlet, before lifting his gargantuan blade overhead in one hand, before something cracked, splintered and twisted back into place with a small spray of blood.

"N-no... Impossible!" Tyrian exclaimed as he held out both hands in front of his face.

_Ruby's POV_

"H-hey... wasn't his arm twisted backwards?" Ruby asked as she tried her hardest not to cringe and scrunch her eyes shut from the pops and cracks, witnessing the brutality that was Cinder drowning in her own blood coming out from her mouth.

"It's the armor." The ex paramedic beside them explained, causing both amber and silver eyes to meet his. "The armor reinforces broken limbs, piercing it's user with iron teeth. It absolutely will not stop fighting... until all of his bones are broken and he bleeds to death."

"Wait... that isn't just a machine?!" Blake shouted with wide eyes. "There's someone in there?"

The large man fell silent.

_Shift_

Holding Tyrian's segmented chord in place with his now fixed arm, it clamping down like a vice grip as it let out a loud growl.

"N-no!" Tyrian screamed. "S-stop!"

Before it could deliver a blow that would completely decapitate his tail, a red wave of energy cut through grazing the underside of it's arm, exposing the flesh within as it's side was torn slightly open.

Roaring in pain, it's legs buckled, wobbling unstably as it jabbed his greatsword into the ground with a deep thunk.

It growled as it faced the crimson haired faunus, who was already prepared to charge up for another attack as his blade hissed into place, resheated by his side as he squared his knees down, hands on the hilt of Wilt and Blush as he prepared himself to draw it out when the opportunity was given.

"Interesting..." He observed. "With all the energy I had stored in that slash, I'd figured it would decapitate your arm lose, but all it caused was nothing but a small graze." Adam said. "What are you?"

"Less talking more fighting!" Tyrian yelped as he untangled his tail immidiately and backflipped in the air, landing softly onto the gravel a good distance away as the greatsword hung lazily in the air, missing by mere inches as the figure swatted the heavy chunk of sharp metal to the side.

"Im... possible!" Arthur exclaimed. "There is no panel!" The man with a thick mustache called out to his comrades, somewhere from behind the obsidian armor. "It's not an automaton!"

"Can we kill it now?" Tyrian asked curiously as he rubbed his palms together, cackling, licking his lips as his golden orbs roved up and down the figure.

"Ye-"

"NOOOOOO!" Someone screamed, effectively cutting them off and attracting the attention of every single being in the midst of the melee.

Even the dark figure craned it's neck upwards to glance at the small figure leaning onto her scythe as she staggered to get up.

"Ruby!" Blake hissed. "What are you doing?!"

"You're gonna get us killed girl." The large man beside her sighed calmly.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt him!"

"What did you say?" Arthur chuckled in amusement as he viewed the group he put as second priority to see an added figure standing there. "I don't think you're in any shape to comment, brat."

"I'm not gonna let you hurt him!" She repeated.

"You're willing to sacrifice your life, for a mindless abomination that you're not even sure is on your side?" Arthur taunted with a raised brow. "Foolish girl. Tyrian!"

"Gladly." Tyrian's grin grew from ear to ear as he lurched towards Ruby.

A rush of air blew Ruby's fringe away as the manical figure seemed to teleport into place, closing the distance between them in a fraction of a second.

"Die!" Tyrian laughed as his tail bolted forwards.

Ruby scrunched her eyes shut as something crackled, but when they opened back up it was to see a jet black armor in front of her eyes with both arms outstretched as something brown protruded out of it's side, specifically, where it's armor was torn open and exposed it's flesh, and where the faunus had managed to plant his stinger, injecting some purple substance within with a loud squelch.

Gasping at what she saw, and putting both hands to her mouth, tears started to pool in her eyes, tricking down the sides of her cheeks as she whispered a soft. "Why?"

The bulky figure didn't respond as it's visors started to flicker. It just stared down at the little girl in the red hood, eyeing her before turning to the cat faunus, and then finally, the chubby man.

The chubby man nodded with an amused shrug in response.

"I... I got it!" Tyrian cackled gleefully as he put both hands together. "The venom will spread throughout your body as you slowly and painfully di-"

"Tyrian?" Arthur made to raise his brow as the scorpion faunus didn't finish his prideful statement.

"ARGH!" Tyrian screamed, while Arthur's eyes widened, and even Adam made to look at the encounter.

One second his tail was attached to his behind, and another, it was ripped out, torn as a spray of green ooze sizzled and hissed like a fire hose.

The black clad figure then staggered around, discarding the useless exoskeleton after squeezing it dry and then throwing it away as if it was bored.

Heavy steps echoed throughout Tyrian's ears as he writhed out in pain, holding his back and screaming aloud.

The black figure stopped a few meters away from the narrow faced faunus to stare directly into his eyes.

"Y-you... bitch!" Tyrian lashed out and lurched towards the armor with both of his arm blades outstretched.

He never made it.

The black figure slammed the flat of it's blade to swat Tyrian aside, the faunus skyrocketing to it's right and rolling several times on the surface of rubble and debris before coming to a screeching halt on Adam Taurus's foot.

His pupils were no longer visible, rolled to the back of his head as a massive bruise rose out his stomach, turning it red.

"Tyrian!" Arthur yelled out in alert. "Grh..." He hesitated to check on his comrade, turning to face the obsidian figure, knowing that he would lose the moment he takes his eyes off his dangerous foe.

It held it's good arm to conceal his exposed side, where the tip of Tyrian's stinger had made it's home earlier. It's knees started to shake as they buckled not soon after, falling down on one knee as it used it's steel cleaver in an attempt to prop it's body up, before it's visors flickered again, before snuffing out completely with a loud hiss, and fell down face first with a thundering thud.

**A/N**

**You try and find another synonym for bulky black armor damnit xD.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**DankAnon (Chapter 40): Louis: I only read that last statement, and I agree that team RWBY should be happy. Still don't get how I have a Harem Protag aura *Le Shrug* don't you agree Evans?**

**Evans: Mhmm.**

**paradox.0.5white (Chapter 40): I meant it litterally. Their ships litterally fell out of the sky xD.**

**Francis (Chapter 40): Then vests shall be worn! Someday...**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 39): I wonder too hmm... relax, forcing you to read my fics is like forcing me to rush my fics. But do know that I would always be waiting for your reviews. P.S. longer is better xD.**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 40): I wonder where the boys are too-**

**Kratos: BOY!**

**Oh, there he is!**

**Zet4 (Chapter 40): o_O I can neither confirm nor deny that fact, but as for not believing in magic, I would recommend you search dw3 for that.**


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N**

**Sorry for the delay on this one, but hey, I finally managed to finish it. No matter how long, I always try not to go over 2 weeks. **

**Enjoy!**

"NOOOOO!" Ruby cried as she rushed over to the dark armor's side, now laid flat out it's face with it's pointed snout buried in the ground, eyes snuffed out of all light and devoid of all life. Not a single limb twitched to indicate the being inside was still conscious, and it's silence was deafening to both parties, albeit for different reasons.

"Ruby!" Blake made to get up, holding out her hand to reach for the small leader, only to be blocked by the figure beside her with his arm outstretched.

In any normal circumstance, that would have been a laughable attempt, but Blake was in no condition to move recklessly, let alone stand up.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed the question out with narrowed eyes, aiming it at both the man who dared to stop her and her red hooded leader, who was trying to shake the dark clad armor awake.

"Wake up!" Ruby yelled while her weapon clattered to the ground beside her with a loud clatter while she fell on her knees. "P-please, wake up! You can't b-be... " Her voice cracked. "No! You can't!"

"That's a lotta damage." The ex paramedic mused, stroking his non existent beard on his rounded chin, although his expression remained stoic and neutral.

Arthur eyed the red hooded leader cautiously, but making no move to stop her as she reached the black figure's side, tears streaming down both sides of her face as she seemingly carefreely attempted to shake the beast that had incapacitated both their half maiden and rouge Hunstman.

"Well, that was... a bit more of a challenge then I expected." Arthur sighed in relief, closing his eyes letting his hands fall to his sides once it was clear the dark golem wasn't getting up anytime soon. He dusted his shoulders off as he stared at their half maiden, who was still thrashing on the ground full of pain, somehow being able to remain awake despite the pain.

His eyes then scanned the battlefield, over the broken glass and masonry, all the way to the static immobile narrow faced faunus.

He was surely breathing, if his bare chest visible through his torn clothing was rising and falling slightly were any indication, yet completely out of the fight. After taking a blow like that? It was almost a sure guarantee that he won't be walking anytime soon.

"Fool." Adam scoffed in disgust. "Died defending a _human _when it clearly could have used that chance to take us on instead." He sneered. "A mere distraction could have given them an opportunity of his allies's survival in walking out of here alive."

"You think it realized the consequences of it's actions?" The Atlesian man asked with a raised brow. "It's a wild animal, an beast at most. No offense." Arthur added when Adam made to raise a brow under his mask. "But it has to be as mindless as any Grimm if it thought facing all of us at once and emerging victorious was ever an outcome. He was outclassed by both quality and quantity. That black beast never stood a chance."

"To angle it's body in such a way that a stinger with pinpoint accuracy will hit it's exposed side?" Adam asked, though Arthur could tell it was rhetorical. "It was aware, if that's what you're asking. It knew that it couldn't handle all of us at the same time, yet it still tried." Adam observed the open wound to it's side, where it was starting to turn purple. Nothing but a few dots surrounding the wound right now, but Adam knew better then to question the potency of venom made by an arachnid faunus like Tyrian, who had the opportunity to let his toxin fester and grow with the passing of time.

"Like a cornered animal, it managed to lash out in an attempt- futile and desperate, yet still an attempt, on taking out as much of us as possible, before it inevitably went down." It was the crimson haired faunus's turn to stare at the half maiden, barely sitting up in an awkward 45 degree angle and yelling out in pain, muffled by her own hands and blood getting into her throat, before slamming back down to the ground with a highly arced back to try and mitigate the pain as she made animalistic gargling noises from her frothing mouth. "It didn't charge in blind. His sacrifice was planned."

"You think if that thing took us out instead, that they ever stood a chance against it?" Arthur asked curiously.

"That's assuming it could even hope to take me out in the first place." Adam replied with a snarl. "It'll never have the chance to even get close."

"Still, the fact that it managed to take out two of our own was still quite a feat." Arthur said as he rubbed his chin. "I would like to... study it. Disect it to perhaps see who- or what lies within."

"You think Atlas has a new weapon in their arsenal of weaponary?" Adam asked.

"I may be outdated, but I doubt dear old James would never have thought to sacrifice a life over something like research on technological advancements." Arthur explained, waving one arm around while the other remained over his chest.

"That was why one such as I." He gracefully grabbed his chest with overwhelming confidence. "And that mad bastard of a scientist left Atlas. Research wasn't meant to have any boundary. If a person does not die in the testing of poisonous substances, then how would we know that said substance was toxic in the first place? And if more does not die in search of a cure, how can one hope to find it?"

Adam grumbled something inaudible beneath his breath, and Arthur took that sign to stop being philisophical.

"This was not the work of Atlas, perhaps back in the Land of Darkness I could track down its maker. Such beauty, truly a magnificent work of art." Arthur said, lost in his own thoughts. "Producing such units en masse? Her grace would be pleased to hear a much more capable army then her usual pack of mindless brutes. Or even better." Arthur chuckled as he held both hands out. "Combine them. This will speed things up exceptionally."

"Do as you please." Adam stated.

"We should wrap things up here." Arthur decided. "So, before anything else becomes a nuisance, would you want to finish what you started? Or are you going to take someone who has sold their soul to the devil as a role model?"

"Don't lump me in with her!" Adam snapped back, lips twisting into a snarl as he pointed a disgusted finger at Cinder. "Or any of you humans for that matter!"

"I am merely suggesting that we get this over with." Arthur chuckled darkly. "Before your little runaway... runs away again." He pointed at a certain direction, where Blake scampered sideways, staggering and dragging her body with her arms as her golden orbs widened in fear when she noticed the two figures staring at her. "Case in point." Arthur sighed.

"There's nowhere to run." Adam snarled, taking a threatening step forward while he unsheathed his sword with a loud rasp. "And nowhere to hide."

His hair glowed bright red.

_Blake's POV_

"Look out!" Blake yelped, pushing the chubby man out of the way as an unmistakable diagonal red wave tore the ground apart.

"That was rude." The chubby man grunted from underneath Blake as he craned his neck to look at the red haired man. "_He_ did warn me you were a bastard of a man, but this is just too much."

"A bastard you say?" Adam laughed hysterically as he waltzed towards the two of them, the one under Blake squirmed free as he jumped up, dusting himself off any impurities that wasn't there before."Am I a bastard for wanting freedom for our kind? For faunus kind?" He spat. "You never knew what it was like to live in constant fear. You're just a _human _after all. You can never understand our pain."

"Maybe not." He replied. "But a bastard you are nevertheless. You're manipulating faunus kind for your own cause, not theirs."

"Whatever do you mean?" He growled the question, squaring his knees.

The rounded man sighed. "You clearly didn't care about your kind if you're willing to just drag them into your little love affair, you're doing it for her, and she don't even like you no more." He pointed towards the cat faunus, who's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

Another red wave slashed through, causing Blake's eyes to scrunch shut and prepare for her end... but it never only felt small spray of pebbles land on the surface of her skin.

"You really need to cool off. He did also say you were pain in the ass to listen to." Blake caught the mysterious man smirking at the corner of her eyes. "Reminds me of a friend of mine."

"How could you have known what happened?! How could you have understood my pain?!" Adam shouted. "She left me! You know nothing!"

"I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve?" He chuckled, causing Blake's eyes to rove onto the ground.

Once the dust cleared, where his feet were, barely on the edge of blasted up gravel. "Maybe... two?"

He was answered with another vertical wave of crimson, which he dodged again with a small leap backwards. Blake eyed him as the man's in utter shock as the charade went on for a while, each mockery thrown almost caused Adam's teeth to shatter on how much pressure he was grinding them at.

_Is he suicidal?!_

_Does he not know what Adam's capable of?!_

"Sto- Agh!" Blake yelped as her hands clamped around her waist and fell down on the hard ground.

_Tch..._

_I'm in no condition to fight, but if this carries on..._

"Stay down!" Blake hissed nevertheless of her body telling her to shut up and stay put. "He's after me! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

"On the contrary." The chubby man answered as he didn't take his eyes off Adam, as if he finally found the needle in the haystack, a predator to it's prey. "Take good care of them."

_Them?_

"Your friends." He clarified over his shoulder in case Blake didn't get the message.

Her eyes widened as realization struck her like a truck.

_It can't just be my imagination... did he just..._

_Drew Adam away from Yang and Weiss?_

_How did I not realize that earlier?!_

"You're gonna die!" Blake snapped, shaking off her thoughts. Even though it was a noble attempt that didn't go unappreciated, the man was weaponless and considering his build, he was in no shape to keep up with Adam's agility.

"Watch and learn." He smirked as two soft clicks could be heard. "I'm about to do what's called a pro gamer move."

"What are you-"

"Tauro, tauro!" He yelled out as he waved something with his arms stretched to his right side, unfurling something and waving it in a frantic manner.

"That's-!" Ruby yelped as she felt a small tug from behind, judging by the look on her face and the way she reached for her weapon, she clearly thought it was an enemy trying to pry her off. Her relaxed shoulders and even more relaxed face died a horrible death, with her eyes widening when she realized a part of her was missing, and even wider when she realized which.

"GIVE ME BACK MY HOOD!" She shrieked.

As she reached out to grab what was rightfully hers, Ruby's instincts forced her to take back her hand as a crimson slash tore the ground.

She managed to peek out of one eye at the exact moment the man twirled around, both her hood and the man a few feet away, but for the sake of the chubby man's life, it was still in one piece.

With a smirk and a small laugh, he chuckled "Ole!"

_He's..._ Blake stared at the man. _He's..._

_Gone insane._

_Amber's POV_

_I can't ever catch a break now can I?!_

"AAAAMBBEEEER!" Hazel roared angrily as both beefy arms slammed towards the ground, blowing up shrapnel and a spray of dust up in a wide area in front of him while the initial impact launched Amber off her feet, leaving a huge crater behind.

"Shit!" Amber cursed under a muttered breath while she dragged her good hand on the ground in hopes that it would slow down her momentum down to a halt.

She came to a screeching stop by an oaken tree, wincing as the blow forced her to outstretch her broken arm and causing pain to pulsate and lance up her shoulders. The same happened to her side, where her wound was on the verge of reopening, if the leaking trails of red was any indication.

"I know there's still good in you Hazel!" Amber yelled as she fell down due to the pain that lanced up, sending the pain receptors into overdrive. "I don't want to fight you!"

"You wasted your chance to run when you sealed your aura in that maiden" He beckoned, planting yellow dust crystals in his elbows as electricity seemed to pour out of him. "Ozpin has been sacrificing students. If it were another student he made into a maiden, then there would be another sophomore in a casket tonight." Hazel spat to the side, as if disgusted by the images that came into his head at the idea. "And I'd really hate to see that... to see history repeating itself. So..." He roared and lumbered towards Amber. "Know that your sacrifice won't be in vain!"

_I'm in no condition to fight! __I need to find something! _

_Anything!_

"You're not going anywhere." Hazel announced with bloodlust in his eyes as he stormed up to Amber, who had scrambled back far enough to back herself up into a thick tree. "DIE!"

_Damnit! _Amber thought as her eyes scrunched shut.

_Sorry Lou..._

_Looks like I wasn't able to stop them from getting to Amber..._

_I only hope that I delayed long enough..._

_For you to kill Cinder._

...

_If death by that monster's arms came painless and swift, then it looks like I got off lucky._

_I'll probably return to my body with a really bad headache sooner or later and-_

"GAAAARGH!" The towering man seemed to stumble on something, howling out in pain as he abruptly stopped in his tracks, before he bent double as he used both hands so that he wouldn't hug the ground. Gravity seemed to multiply by tenfold, and soon, a hundredfold in a small area around him the ground underneath him shattered, his breaths growing into sporadic and heavy panting as the crater seemed to just increase in width and depth.

"What... the...?"

"As much as I would like to recommend that young miss Amber stays in bed after awaking to having half her vitality stolen, I would like to point out that given your circumstances, you did a good job in holding out. And... "

As Amber gazed sideways, a swirl of golden lock fell on the face of a light skinned woman, a familiar cape blowing in the gentle night breeze in contrast to her white blouse. The figure's cold gaze bore into Hazel's back with her signature horsewhip held out. "I would like to extend you my sincerest apologies for arriving late."

_I'll be damned._

_Saved by the bell. And for once, I'm actually grateful for it._

"I'd say," Amber's lips twisted into a small smile of relief. "you came right on time. Never a second late, as expected of you... Glynda."

_Ruby's POV_

_What is that man's deal?!_

_He just grabbed my hood out of nowhere, and now he's dancing and twirling like Weiss without a care in the world?!_

_Doesn't he get just how serious this situation is?_

"Die human!" Adam shouted. "Perish! Perish or be enslaved under faunus rule! We'll do to you just like what you did us!"

"Is die all you can say?!" The portly man taunted as he avoided another wave of instant death. "What's the matter? Cat got your tounge? Too bad she has someone else's now."

_Blake has..._

_Wait..._

"RAAAAAAAAARGH!" Adam screamed as he tore his blade free of it's sheath, unleashing a bigger, more lethal wave that had Ruby reeling backwards as she felt the blast of hot air.

"Did I perhaps strike another nerve?" He smirked with an expression that was nothing less then shit eating. "I'll say it again. That pussy was never yours."

"When I'm done with you, there wouldn't be a shred of bone left to be buried in your funeral!"

"Is assistance really necessary?" Arthur sighed in annoyance as he pinched the bridge between his eyes. "You can't even win a fight on a weaponless opponent one on one."

"SHUT UP!" Adam snapped back with gritted teeth, all composure long lost from the red haired swordsman as his breaths came out in frustrated pants through grit teeth. "And stay out of this! He just made this personal."

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, he's not in the wrong." Arthur agreed. "I'm afraid I would have to interfere if you take any longer." he added, shrugging the matter lightly. "Tick tock Taurus. Tick tock."

"This'll be over quick." He assured, bending his body over, along with his legs as he drew his katana to a close with a shrill rasp.

"Another ranged attack?" The chubby man sighed with a smile. "When do you ever-"

His eyes widened, and as Ruby glanced over to where Adam once stood, she understood why.

A trail of shadows blurred over as Adam launched himself, the lurch ensuring a straight path that led right to the rotund man.

In an instant, he was in the man's guard with a vicious smirk that was backed up by the fact that he was victorious.

"Die."

_SLASH_

Splashing, dripping and a loud crack was what the large man last heard as he fell sideways on his ribs, dragging the entirety of his body across the hard ground.

Turning back to glance behind his shoulder, his mouth opened and quivered, but no words came forth but a weak croak.

"No..."

Ruby held out her hands... to see both her palms painted in red.

_Eh...?_

"Ruby!" Blake screamed.

Ruby coughed out more blood as the crimson blade protruded out of her back, spilling it onto her black skirt and painting it burgundy in color, spilling and dripping onto the grass beneath her as her own ichor started to pool beneath her.

_H-how did it b-become like t-this...?_

_My body moved in on it's own to protect him..._

"Foolish girl..." Adam said, shaking his head, tearing the whole length of his blade out of her core with a small squelch as her body crumpled to the ground with a loud thud.

Or, he would have, if Ruby didn't clung onto the hilt like her life depended on it.

_B-but... if Louis's friend can escape with Yang and the others..._

_..._

_Then..._

_ I don't regret it._

_And I'm not wasting this chance!_

"What are you doing _human_?" He asked with a probable annoyed brow behind his mask. "Let go girl."

"N..no..." She muttered weakly. "I... won't..."

"Let go." Adam echoed, louder this time.

Ruby wrapped her fingers tighter around the hilt, managing a small bob to the right.

"Tch..." Adam spat, before kicking her down to the ground with his blade still embedded in the small girl. "If you are going to deny yourself a swift death, then so be it. Besides..." His gaze flicked to Blake for a second, his frown twisting into a vicious, but satisfied, sneer. "Blake's gonna watch as you writhe in pain, and I'm gonna bask in the satisfaction knowing you're the one making her suffer for her mistakes."

Ruby whimpered as her whole body trembled, looking towards the night sky with blank gaze as ichor continued to ooze out of her body, draining her vitality with each passing second. As her vision blurred, she couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face.

"H-hey L-louis.… I saved your friend." She giggled weakly. "D-don't worry L-louis... Mom..." She whispered. "I'm coming."

_Shift_

"What do you think my love?" Adam asked as he turned to face the cat faunus, eyes glinting as her tear ducts started to pile up her tears, with her mouth open but no words came out. "Every actions has consequences, and this is yours. For leaving your kind..." Adam grit his teeth. "For leaving... me."

"What have you done?"

"Hm?" Adam asked.

Surprisingly the question didn't come out of Blake, but from the stout man who had played him for a fool. Adam turned to stare at the man who was having the time of his life earlier on. All of that was gone now, replaced by a serious expression, tense and stiff shoulders, with a hard glare that was nothing short of unrelenting.

"This was your doing, not mine." He said, swiping his hand across his body to wipe his arm off any blood, as if it was contagious. "You have only yourself to blame."

"RUBY!"

_CLANG_

Qrow was on the crimson haired faunus in an instant, causing him to skid back to a halt as pain lanced through his arms from blocking from such a tremendous force.

But...

He held his ground.

"Kid! Get my niece to safety now! Find a doctor, fast!"

"Name's Kevin." He said. "And that man..." He pointed. "Made me broke my promise."

"So what?!" Adam managed a sneer, even as he was brought down to one knee, his forearm rattling sporadically from trying to keep the huge blade from tearing his body clean in two.

"That's what I came here to do in the first place. I achieved that look I want from my love." He nodded over to the cat faunus, who was traumatized and looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "I managed to make her suffer, and that was but with one."

"KID!" Qrow yelled. "Stop listening to a lunatic and get Ruby to a medical staff!"

Kevin didn't move a muscle.

"Damnit kid move! Or I swear I'll kill you myself!"

"That's all the hard work down." Adam still managed to talk, despite the blade being inches away. "With the other two unconscious, killing them is gonna be child's pla-"

His victory was short lived as he was blasted off his feet with a force that caused him to propel meters away and faceplant to the ground, before bouncing back up, picking up momentum as he skyrocketed further away and crashing into a huge tree, shattering the trunk and causing it to topple over with a thundering crash.

Clang

"What..." Qrow's eyes widened as the faunus was no longer in front of him, his sword bouncing off a tower of black.

"You've just doomed us all." Kevin snapped.

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH!**

_Amber's POV_

_That's..._

"What... was that?" Glynda gasped as her whole body shivered,. "It sounded like a tortured animal. A Grimm?"

_If that were the case it would've been so much easier..._

_The truth is far worse._

That moment of distraction was enough for Glynda to lose her concentration for a brief moment, unintentionally putting her crop down.

He then used that chance to break free, knowing better that there won't be another if he got caught in Glynda's psychic hold once more.

"The next time we meet, you're not getting away." He threatened Amber as he sprinted away. For a man his size, he was surprisingly agile when it came to speed.

"Halt! Who gave you permission to-"

"Glynda, we have to go." Amber said as she took Glynda's hand. "Now!"

_Winter's POV_

_Where did that bastard fly off to?_

_One second it was flapping it's flimsy wings in the air and another it's gone?_

"Damnit Qrow..."

_Beep Beep_

"Hm?" Winter asked as she took out her scroll. "Why would someone contact me-"

Her eyes widened into dinner plates.

"N-no... it can't be!" She frantically unsheathed her sabre with a shrill rasp, jabbing it into the ground as a white glyph formed behind her, before she bolted into a streak of white, the buildings around her blurring in her peripheral due to the speed she was going at.

_No..._

_No no no._

_It can't be._

_Weiss,_

_Please... be safe!_

As her scroll clattered on the floor, Winter ignored it as she couldn't even hear it dropping with the roaring of winds in her ears.

The scroll's monitor cracked at it's corner, bouncing a few times before sliding to a halt to show multiple red dots converging back towards one destination.

Beacon.

_Amber's POV_

"You should rest Amber, you just woke up after a coma.." Glynda replied in a frustrated tone as Amber got up in her face, realizing that if she left Amber to her own, there was a chance of said maiden to be murdered.

The courtyard isn't exactly an ideal place if you want to hide something, and with the condition Amber's in right now, she's as good as leaving a crying child in a street full of Grimm.

Glynda hesitated for a moment, but she made the correct choice as she sighed, nodded, and watched the lumbering man go. "Follow me to a nearby hospital, your body won't last much longer. You might be awake and standing now, but your body was stationary for a while now, and your body anything but stellar right now." Glynda explained as honestly as she could. "Fatigue can kick in at any moment now and you're gonna collapse."

"And you won't be fighting. Not with... that." She pointed to the protruding skeletal structure coming out of her elbow. Glynda's face went green, looking like she was on the verge of throwing up, but managed to swallow it in with a hand over her mouth, albeit with a ton of effort. "I'll contact Ozpin and-"

"That..." Amber bit her lip. "I cannot do." Amber's gaze turned to the ground.

"What...?"

"I must... go." She insisted as she attempted to push past Glynda, however a few steps forwards and already she stumbled, clinging onto Glynda's blouse for support.

"Amber!" Glynda snapped with a stern tone. "Don't push yourself, you need some rest."

"I must go... to where that roar came from."

"Why? Why do you need to-"

"Please!" Amber yelled as she clung onto Glynda's blouse. "I beg you! You don't understand!"

"Why?" Glynda echoed. "Why try so hard to reach a Grimm that we don't even know about?"

"It's not a..." Amber swallowed when Glynda made to raise her brow.

"I have a duty..." Amber said instead. "To see this through. Please... this... this may be my last request."

...

...

"Ugh." Glynda rolled her eyes as she slung Amber's good arm around her shoulder, and started to limp towards the source of the inhumane howl. "Fine, but after this, we tend your wounds immediately."

"I wouldn't wanna drag this on any more then you do." Amber agreed with a slight nod.

_Shift_

Red caustics traveled down the surface of the shaded armor as it's hunched back rose and fell, a low rumble resonating from somewhere from within it's throat as the air seemed to vibrate around it, while it's black eyes seemed blindingly bright in the night.

"No..." Arthur took a step back as his green pupils shrunk. "You're not even supposed to be standing. You took a direct hit from Tyrian's stinger!" He yelled. "The poison should've spread throughout by now!"

"What... is that?" Qrow muttered as he too reeled back from the overwhelming aura, unable to comprehend what just happened. A second, the asshole that stabbed his niece was almost dead, and another, he was sent flying?

"Get away now!" Kevin shouted. "Help me with Yang! Just get away from it now! Move!"

"Wait.." The drunkard turned around. "How do you know their names?" Qrow demanded. "I don't think they'v-"

CRACK

"AAARGH!" Qrow yelled as his body missed Kevin's by mere inches, crashing onto the ground a distance away with a puff of dust.

"Shit..." Kevin ground his teeth in panic.

"Kev!" A feminine voice called out, causing the chubby man to turned around to the source.

"How?!" Amber hissed. "How did his Overdrive activate?!"

As Kevin turned around with a blank stare and Ruby in his arms, who was on the verge of death's door, Amber could only hiss through grit teeth, looking to the side as Glynda put both hands around her mouth to conceal her gasp.

"You promised…" Amber muttered through grit teeth. "You said you could protect them."

"I didn't expect this girl to be that naïve!" Kevin countered with a snap. "She could've just let me take it!"

"We warned you of this!"

"Fuck..." Kevin couldn't meet her eyes. "I didn't have a choice but to bait em. He passed out, you would've taken too long to get here and-"

"I know." Amber sighed in frustration. "It's just-"

"Tch..." Amber's eyes went from the specific crimson blade still embeded in her core, to fountain blood drenching her skirt, then darted to the fallen tree, where Adam Taurus staggered to get up.

Part of his mask cracked, while the top left of it shattered, revealing part of his blue orbs. His torn clothing showed his body decorated with bruises and cuts, spreading evenly as he hissed through the pain. "We need to get him under control..."

"No shit sherlock." Kevin spat, handing Ruby over yo Glynda. "But how?! If this keeps up the dragon's gonna-"

**ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

"You just had to jinx it." Amber deadpanned.

**RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH! **The black beast howled in a wail of tortured agony that could have rivalled a banshee, before it lumbered on all fours towards the crimson haired faunus, like a dog that's seeking revenge of that who dared hurt it's master.

"What... is happening?" Blake asked as Glynda used her semblance to round up the remaining members of team RWBY, levitating them a few feet above the jagged rocks and shattered windows.

"What do we do?" Amber asked.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Kevin asked as a dark shadow loomed over them, growing bigger by the second as a gargantuan figure blocked the only source of light they have. "We need to fall back, now!"

"And leave him here?!" Amber pointed at the dark clad armor. "Alone?!"

"At least until he's on the verge of passing out." Kevin nodded. "You know he isn't the one in control in that state."

"But..."

"I don't like it either man, but we don't have a choice!" Kevin snapped. "I don't see any other way out of this mess. Do you?"

"Fuck... " Amber cursed.

_Amber's POV_

_As much as I'd hate to admit it... Kevin has a point._

"Thought so." Kevin said as he noticed Amber's expression. "Alright pull ba-"

"Wait."

"We don't have time Ev!" Kevin shouted in Amber's face, flinging his arms wildly in the air.

"Glynda, can you pull the blade out of Ruby? I think I can seal the wound with the Maiden's powers."

"W-what?!" Glynda choked, forgetting the fact that the two never met. "Y-you want to just pull it out of her?"

"If you're more delicate with your Semblance, then by all means." Amber nodded. "I'll be sure to take good care of her, it'll be instant, I promise."

"I... I..." Glynda hesitated as she stared into cyan orbs.

_Kevin's POV_

"What do you think you're doing?!" Kevin shrieked.

"I... think I might have something to stop him."

"Ah... fuck." Kevin grumbled into both palms. "Something tells me I'm not gonna like this..."

And as Amber limped to his side to whisper in his ear, turns out he was right.

He didn't like the plan.

Didn't like? No, that was too kind.

He hated it.

**A/N**

**These chapters are getting harder and harder to write as the story goes on. I'm never the type to completely go doom and gloom so writing stuff like these can be a bit of a challenge for me. Not trying to drag anything out but well... can't make anything seem fast without it looking rushed.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white (Chapter 41) That's a completely different thing altogether.**

**DankAnon (Chapter 41): What the heck does Prototype have to do with any of this? Yeah, Fall is gonna be awesome.**

**The Inquisitor (Chapter 41): It is now isn't it?**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 41): Glad you liked the chapter as usual, well this one should answer who the paramedic was, unless you skipped all the way to the reviewer sessions without even reading the chapter xD.**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N**

**Ugh... I thought I could've made this chapter by Ruby's birthday (Halloween), then I'd thought I could make it by Vol 7's premiere.**

**Well... At least I didn't go over 2 weeks.**

**End of the year shit can get pretty hectic at work. Fuck me.**

**By the way, do note that for those of you that do listen to the music I put for recommendations, the lyrics (If ever eligible) do come into play with the story. I'm trying to make this as close to RWBY canon as I possibly can, where the song's lyrics do tell parts of the story to a****ct as**** 'Fillers' of some kind. Obviously it won't be a 100% perfect, but it's for fun and games. It could be a clue, or what a certain character is feeling at the moment.**

**Doesn't have to be a first person perspective, could be third, or it could even be neither, but I'll leave that for you readers to decide.**

**Also, if you're wondering why the words in brackets are long, those are the specific titles of Youtube vids so you don't get mixed with any other version of the song.**

_Glynda's POV_

"Are you certain this would work?" Glynda asked, the generally stern lecturer asked with a rare, shaky voice, while her brain pulsated against her cranium and her heart pumped against her rib cage with every heavy beat, threatening every vein in her body to dilate, ready to burst as she readied her crop.

"Nope." Amber replied. "I have no idea. Hell, I'm no doctor, and last I checked, neither are you. That much should be obvious by how nervous we both are right now." Amber gestured towards the currently whimpering leader that was curled up into a ball, laying on her side as the crimson blade prodded out of her back, merging it's color with her vital fluid. "But Miss Rose needs our help."

_Easy for you to say..._

_If you really are nervous Amber, you don't look it..._

_And unfortunately, it's not contagious._

"Is there a better alternative?" Glynda asked instead. She knew complaining about it here wouldn't do them any good, especially in their current situation. And even though the pressure was a far cry compared to Beacon's paperwork, she'd knew better than retaliating against what was obviously the way to go won't lead to a solution.

"I wouldn't recommend it if we could help it, but she's bleeding out." Amber replied. "And fast."

Something trembled out of the corner of her eye, and just as she thought she was about to face Grimm, she couldn't stop herself from gasping as her eyes took notice on what actually happened.

As much as she hated to admit it, it looked like Amber was right.

It wasn't the fact that something was shaking that caught her attention, it was instead what completely stopped moving.

Ruby was ghostly white now, almost as pale as Weiss's hair, her eyes half lidded as it fluttered to remain open, her breaths came out long and winded.

"Is she...?" Kevin gasped.

"Alive." Amber confirmed as she lifted 2 fingers off the girl's wrist. "Probably passed out from the pain, but her pulse is almost non existent." Amber said. "We have to take it out, now!"

"Ru...by?" Blake whispered with wide eyes as she just managed to crawl up to the leader, looking down in horror as warm ichor tainted her hands.

"I... I'm... " She sniffled as her voice threatened to crack, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand as amber eyes welled up. "I'm so... sorry..." She managed to get out through the lump in her throat, even as tears forced it's way out and rolled down the sides of her cheeks. "This is all... my fault..."

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!**

And to make things worse, they're about to perform surgery on what's basically the middle of a combat zone right now.

"Gah!" Arthur cursed as he leapt a great distance backwards.

"Is that thing..." Glynda asked as her specs dropped to her nose, trying to process what she was looking at. Dark, bulky plates of barbed armor, yet it's dark eyes seemed to penetrate any soul unfortunate enough to meet it's gaze.

"Harmless." Amber stated. "At least for now. As long as we don't agitate him or go anywhere nearby, he shouldn't attack us..."

Glynda was sure she heard Amber mutter 'I hope...' afterwards, causing what was supposed to be a reassuring statement fail it's initial purpose.

"I've never seen a Grimm like that before..." Glynda mused as she traced the dark clad armor charging towards Arthur Watts, who leapt back in panic, pounding his hand on the ground to cause a huge electric wave to shoot out, but like any previous attempts to attack it from before, it either ignored the attacks or swatted it out of the way as if they were child's play as it continued it's pursuit, engulfed in total bloodlust.

"That's because he isn't." The chubby man grunted with an annoyed expression as Arthur managed to zone it out by placing distance between them, occasionally having a chemical trap go off, some musky green sludge in small vials that lubricate and hiss as it made contact with the ground, swallowing up any who stand in it, turning it into quicksand of sorts.

The being paid it no heed, even as it was knee deep in the blubbery bile as it clawed on solid ground with one arm, and just like a zombie crawling out of it's grave, dragged his body forwards, tearing itself free as if nothing ever happened.

With every trap sprung the dark breastplate grew thinner and thinner, to the point where Glynda could see exposed skin bubble and broil, blistering and threatening to tear open and reveal the flesh within.

Arthur frantically threw more and more, each time it's forearm would bat it aside. He even combined both what Glynda assumed to be his semblance and his array of compounds at one point, the crackling electricity bursting multiple vials to an emerald tinted toxic mist that would've corroded any who were foolish enough to inhale it in a desperate attempt to immobilize the dark automaton, but all it did was seem to anger it even further.

Void like eyes glared at the moustached man as it stormed forwards, metal jaws creaking open to let out a frenzied howl as it charged in once more.

"I'd worry more about _her_ if I were you."

"Who are you to tell me that?" Glynda shot back at the portly man with a cold glare. "As far as I'm concerned you were the one who caused this!"

"I bought her- them," He corrected as he pointed at the unconscious girls below his feet. "Time. I didn't know she would jump in the way just to protect me. She doesn't even know me."

Her hands tightened around her crop, almost causing it to snap in two as she ground her teeth so hard it might've shattered.

Just as Glynda was about to smack her crop to blast him into oblivion, Amber held out her only functioning hand to stop her.

"Glynda, please." Amber begged. "He's with us."

"Is he now?" Glynda questioned with raised brow as her shoulders rose and fell. "Well, he's got a convoluted way of proving it."

Amber sighed, and looked like she would've dug her elbow into the man, had it not been broken. "If you don't trust him, trust in me who trusts in him."

With a exasperated sigh of her own, Glynda shot the man an unamused glare, before she scrunched her eyes shut and went back to considering the odds whilst pinching the space between her emerald orbs.

_What if I didn't pull it out at the right angle and send Miss Rose to an early grave?_

_What if Amber only managed to repair the damage when it's already too late?_

She then stared at the disheveled man a few meters away, the entirety of his body dragged through dirt and groaning as he looked to have suffered some broken ribs.

Would she have to face her father's wrath the same way Qrow had?

The cacophony of voices seemed to echo around her all at the same time, overloading her thoughts like hot pillars of flames that is edging closer and closer.

Even though the night was cold, Glynda couldn't stop a few dribbles of sweat from running down the edge of her brow.

...

_Amber takes priority... _Glynda thought as she took one glance at the maiden, who was receiving the red cloth from the chubby man's arms, before fumbling with it. _If she dies here and whoever receives the other half of the maiden's powers unveils the myths and legends we've been trying to keep secret for so long... the whole world would fall into chaos._

_The remaining maidens would never be able to experience even the slightest moment of calm, for they will turn their backs in fear of being hunted down by not only foes, but their loved ones as well._

_After all..._

_What they cannot comprehend..._

_Humanity will seek to either gain and abuse, or destroy in fear of it being used against them._

_For Amber to die here..._

_It would be a huge burden for not only the present, but for the future as well._

_..._

_But... _Glynda glanced at the small rose and the sobbing faunus.

...

_Damnit..._

_An ideal solution would be for the medical staff to secure Ruby to pull out that blade etched into her. They could use Atlas's tech to seal the wound rapidly._

_At least they'll have a clue as to what to do... Whereas we..._

...

...

"_Glynda?_"

_But they've all evacuated by now._

_Even if I called through my scroll, they won't come anywhere near Beacon._ Glynda thought as the wind that started as a gentle breeze got just a tad bit more violent, to the point where it's forcing her tight black skirt to flutter upwards, causing her hand to cover her face as the giant shadow loomed over them.

It was emanating from the gargantuan creature that was rapidly descending towards them.

They're not coming...

_Not with... that... thing... here. _

_It's capable of wiping out an entire armada if it so pleases to, not even Atlas Military could have been prepared to anticipate fighting a prehistoric beast as old as time._

_What should I do?_ Glynda thought, wincing slightly as she didn't realize the entire time she was biting her bottom lip a bit too hard that a small trickle of blood dripped down the side of her jaw.

"_M-Miss Goodwitch?_"

...

_Yes, I may have a duty to keep the maidens safe, to keep their existence from the world should their information get into the wrong hands..._

_That's why Beacon was built in the first place._

_..._

_But I also have a responsibility... _

_As a teacher of Beacon._

_And as a teacher..._

_I'm not gonna sit by and watch while a student of mine dies right in front of my eyes._

_Not when I could do something about it._

_If there's a chance, even if it's a small one..._

_It's better then none._

"Glynda... Glynda!"

"Yes...?" Glynda mumbled as the frantic calling of her name cut through her thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

"I thought we'd lost you too for a second there." Amber sighed in relief as she took her hands off the teacher's white blouse, causing the whole length of her forearm to be doused in red.

In any normal circumstances, she would've screamed right then and there, shouting on how hard it is to get such a stain off, but she shook her head of such thoughts.

"Kev, I need you to be ready to apply pressure on her back. I won't be able to seal both wounds, not with my broken arm."

The man called Kevin nodded once.

Taking a few deep breaths to wind down the panicked thoughts, her unarmed palm slapped the latter, and the second of reassurance proved to be all she needed.

Her fingers closed around her wrist to steady it, and then the trembling finally slowed down to a halt.

Her eyes closed in a moment of silence, her concentration unwavering before she opened them, and all doubts on her face from before were gone.

_Tai Yang Xiao Long wouldn't have to worry about a thing._

_He wouldn't lose another loved one._

_Not now._

_Not ever again._

Her emerald eyes gleamed with the determination of bringing Ruby back.

"Now that's the look of the Glynda we all know and love." Amber smirked, before her neck snapped in the direction of Ruby. "Alright on thre-"

"R-R...uby...?" Someone muttered from their left, before something clinked while something else shook, buckling and eventually... thudded.

This time, it wasn't Glynda.

"No..."

_Shift_

...

"Mr Arc." Glynda hissed under her breath without turning away. "You are in no condition to stand, walk, let alone, be here. I believe the last airship had just set sail, you were supposed to-"

"Ruby!" Pyrrha gasped as she broke out of Jaune's grasp. "No... no! What happened?!" She asked as she limped towards the seemingly lifeless leader.

"Miss Nikos too I see." Glynda growled under a muttered breath. "What are you both doing here?!" She shrieked once her patience snapped.

"We-"

"Please," Amber held out her hand, her palm lighting up as flames licked the edges of her fingertips. "Stay back."

"W-why are you..."

"How did this happen?!" Jaune pounded the ground with one fist in frustration as he propped his weakened body against the rubble with both arms. "She can't be... No... no!"

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!**

"And what is... that?!" Pyrhha nearly shouted over the ringing of her ears as dust and debris kicked up, catching the blur of black right on time to see it hurtling towards two bodies with speeds the champion had never seen before, and bolted out of sight with a with a rumble that could rival thunder, leaving nothing but a crater remaining where it once stood.

"Nothing you should concern yourselves with." The rotund man barked. "You heard the lady. Get out of here while you can, we have the situation under control."

"What do you mean under control?!" Pyrhha yelled as she motioned at Ruby. "Ruby has a sword through her!"

"Look here _Magneto_." Kevin snapped as he jabbed a finger towards the red haired champion. "I know you've been having both relationship and decision making issues as of late, but right now little red won't be riding no more if she's not gonna get treated."

"You make it sound like we're not even making an effort!"

To everybody's shock it wasn't Pyrhha who barked in retaliation.

Jaune roared as he closed his fingers around Kevin's collar. "I don't know who you are, but I'm gonna beat you to a pulp if you so much as talk my girlfriend- to us like that ever again!" Jaune threatened.

"I'd like to see you try _High School Musical_." Kevin growled.

"You're making it sound like we didn't even try to stop Cinder!" Jaune hissed through grit teeth as he reeled a fist back, gaining no response from the portly man. "Stop talking to us like we're worthless trash!" Jaune hissed through grit teeth, and after a few ragged breaths, let his hand fell to his side, but remained clenched.

"Yes we failed... there, I said it okay! We failed!" Jaune threw his free hand up in frustration as he glared into Kevin's eyes. "But at least we tried! And what have you been doing this whole time? In fact, who are you?!"

A burst of flames caused the two to jump back in an instant, and right when they were about to react to what's going on, a strong gust of wind ripped them apart and swept them off their feet, blasting them further back as they landed on their rears.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha gasped.

"Kevin! Jaune!" Amber hissed with a glowing palm outstretched, causing the two to glare at the injured maiden, one unamused and one utterly confused. "You're both being childish. Stop!"

Jaune's shoulder's tensed the moment he heard his name being called out.

"How did you know my..."

"Tch." Kevin spat. "He's denser then I'd expected."

"We're not here to kill you." Amber said in an awfully calm manner. "And as you can see, we're trying to keep your friend Ruby here alive." Amber said as she turned towards the black haired girl for further emphasis. "We're all on the same side here, so I'd appreciate it if you could stop going against each other and actually help?"

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?!" Jaune accused with a pointed finger.

"Oh yee have little faith. If I wanted Lou's team to be dead by now they would be." Kevin said with a roll of his eyes. "That small girl there is literally dying with a sword through her side." He said as he pointed at Ruby, who was growing paler by each passing second as ichor poured out of her. He then averted his eyes to the other 2, who are about a meter away from where he stood. "These two are unconscious," He then threw a glance at the cat faunus. "And this one can barely walk."

"Jaune... he's... right." Blake sniffled from somewhere to his left, and when Jaune made to look, she was on Ruby's side, holding the young leader's hand as she laid on her deathbed. "If they wanted us dead he wouldn't have helped us."

"He..."

Blake nodded. "He's telling the truth." Blake explained as amber eyes met Glynda's shocked gaze. "He kept their attention away from us so that we could run. Ruby however..." Blake turned to faced the red hooded leader. "She charged right as he was about to get impaled."

"I..."

"Jaune..." Pyrhha muttered.

"I... don't..." Jaune grit his teeth. 'Ugh..."

...

"What can I do to help?" Pyrrha rushed into Ruby's side, effectively cutting Jaune off and threw a meaningful glance towards her boyfriend, who returned it with a dumbfounded expression.

"They're hurt because of me Jaune. I didn't claim the maiden's powers when I could have done so earlier. I could have saved Ruby..." Her gaze turned towards the ground as she clenched her fists while her nails dug into her palm. "Saved... Louis." She said as she glanced at Blake, who's ears drooped and yellow eyes turned towards the floor. "So, if you want to stay there then that's fine, but I don't think I can sit by and watch another friend die."

"We don't even know who he- they are!" Jaune yelled and pointed at the rotund man. "And why does the maiden know who Ruby is? Know us?! She was in a comma this entire time!"

"And that fat man there." Jaune jabbed his finger at Kevin. "Almost a whole year at Beacon and I've never even seen him before, and he knows Louis was a part of team RWBY!"

...

"I know, but if he- they," Pyrhha corrected as her eyes hardened at the sight of Kevin, who pointed to himself with a confused expression. "Were part of Cinder's group then he would've dealt with us by now. As of right now, they're content on helping Ruby, who's running on fumes."

"Damnit..." Jaune winced as he realized he's just been delaying what could've been the death of his first friend at Beacon.

"And if anything happens to us well..." Pyrrha glanced at Glynda. "I don't think Miss Goodwitch is just gonna sit back and watch."

...

...

"Well, what's it gonna be _Prince Charming_?" Kevin asked.

"Tch… " He hissed out as he kicked the pebbles underneath him.

"Fine." He replied eventually while he threw a cold glare at Kevin. "But in no way does this make us friends."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Kevin grumbled as he patted himself down. "As if I needed two Dwikis..."

"What was that?" Jaune snarled.

"Nothing."

...

"Ruby..." Blake breathed out, taking the hands of the person in question in both of her palms while her fingers closed in around them. "Help arrived, you're gonna be okay."

Ruby didn't respond.

"She's barely breathing." Kevin announced as he bent down, and put an ear close to the young leader's nose. "Whatever you're gonna do, you better do it quick. Her physique isn't suited to pumping such amounts of adrenaline, and it's barely sustaining."

"Pyrhha, I'm gonna need you to help Miss Goodwitch in extracting the blade. With your sembelance you should be able to help angle it so her organs are intact." Amber explained as she looked down at the wound. "I'm sure you're taught basic first aid in class?"

Pyrhha nodded as she listened in on the instructions, putting a mental note to follow her instructions step by step.

"I'm gonna handle the front with my good arm." She said as she gestured to her broken one. "With the maiden's powers, I can cauterize it, the same way I did mine." She gestured towards her side, which Pyrhha tried not to look at. "I can't do both at the same time, so you handle the back. Think you can do that?"

Pyrhha wanted to ask what had happened, but bit it back.

"I... handle... the back?" She asked instead.

"I'm gonna try and attempt to seal both wounds, but I can't do it at the same time." Amber repeated. I'm gonna need a buffer. If she runs out of lifeblood before then, she's dead." Amber explained needleslly.

"Your semblance should be fast and precise enough to sew the wound shut. Use this as the material." He said as he brought out a red thread. It was fluffy and clumsily disentangled, looking rather weak. It resembled more like wool as linen jutted out every few inches, and looked like even a toddler has the strength to tear through it.

Pyrhha's eyes then darted towards the source, widening as she saw Ruby's red cloak in tatters.

"She isn't gonna like the sight of that when she gets up..." Jaune mumbled.

"If needed, use the metal around you as the needle. You should be able to form one or find one with ease. Something like a lid from a soda can would do, or break off the end of a fork or any of the thinnest cutlery you can find. There should be plenty to go around."

"B-but the needle's too big..." Pyrhha claimed. "A-and the rust would..."

"It's necessary to keep the blood from flowing out." Amber proclaimed. "I'm sorry, but beggars can't be choosers."

She gulped down a huge breath of air, before letting it all out in one go.

Pyrhha nodded, showing she understood what must be done.

"Glynda."

A small nod from the blonde woman was as much reassurance as they were gonna get.

"On 3..." Amber counted down.

_Adam's POV_

[Devil May Cry 3 - Divine Hate [EPIC METAL COVER] (LittleV)]

"Howl all you want." Adam snarled as he staggered to stand upright, putting a hand over his face to cover the shattered mask that now resides partially merged to his face. "It won't bring her back."

A pained howl was as much as a reply as he was going to get as it lunged with uncanny speed, closing the distance between in a span of a second and slashed the air with it's barbed gauntlets.

Adam weaved through the attacks, fluidly bending his body like a gymnast as he dodged with inhumane grace of his own. However, the armor managed to get close enough to land a few light scratches amongst his thighs and forearms, both which he used to block and defend.

"You're faster then you look, even with that heavy armor on." Adam admitted with a half impressed, half annoyed tone as he leapt back far enough to have enough of a reaction time should the dark being draw close.

"I don't get it." Arthur grumbled as he landed beside the red haired swordsman. "The acid I mixed should be able to melt through even an Atlesian Paladin's armor. So why isn't he-"

He didn't get to finish as a black fist almost shot through him, causing him to roll to the side while Adam leapt in the opposite direction.

"Haah!" Arthur yelled as he landed some ice dust to plant the ironclad in place, only for it to shatter a second later.

"Stop wasting your time!" Adam snapped. "Are you blind?! Your tactics are clearly not working."

"You have a better idea?"

"If I still had my blade with me then I could've handled this alone." Adam claimed, causing the Atlesian scientist to shoot back an exasperated glare.

"If I'm blind then you're delusional." Arthur sniggered, his moustache twitching in annoyance as he hurtled more vials to slow it down, and for a moment, it seemed to have worked.

It's leg plating dissolved enough that Arthur could see it's knee being exposed through the mixture of molten alloy, bleeding, but intact.

"There!" Arthur yelled as he held out his arm.

Electricity crackled, shooting out of his fingers and spreading out in a wide, cone like arc in front of the well tailored man, igniting any bushes that were nearby and striking the dark armor's weak point.

The umbral knight roared in pain, and Arthur smirked cockily as he prepared another vial of acid to finish the job.

"You were saying?" Arthur chuckled victoriously as he threw corrosive vials, causing the ground beneath the black armor to finally give away and dissolve as it staggered to stand upright.

The crimson haired faunus scoffed in disgust.

"A genius much like myself is known to be successful only after many other failed attempts." The tall man boasted. "After all, there is only a fine line between genius and insanity."

"Do as you please." Adam growled as he turned his back, pacing slowly and making his way out of the forest.

"And where are you going?" Arthur asked with a raised brow. "I was just getting started."

"To finish what I started." Adam beckoned with a sinister smile as he stretched out both arms. "After all, I have a public image to uphold, I slack off, the whole White Fang slacks off. Unlike your chosen maiden, I'm the one that'll change the world." He grinned savagely.

Adam stopped in his tracks as he glanced behind his shoulder. "By the way, I'd wrap things up here right now if I were you."

"Our deal is over, you're free to go whenever you please."

"Not that."

"Oh?" Arthur's moustache twitched. "Something on your mind, Taurus?"

"In all honesty, I don't really care, but I believe your objective would fail should Cinder die here and now yes?" Adam asked. "Unless you want her secured by Atlas military, which would be harder to break rather than the Vale police force, I think you should take her and leave at once."

"Well, that is true," Arthur closed his eyes in a moment of thought. "For a terrorist like yourself, it looks like you'd actually use your brain from time to tim-"

_Snikt_

_Shink_

_Shink_

_Shink_

_Shink_

_Clank_

_Spurt_

_Splutter_

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!**

_Clatter_

"ARGH!"

In an instant, Arthur was sent barreling into a trunk.

"Im...possible... " Adam muttered as he turned behind his shoulder to face the dark beast. "How?!"

Adam stared at the wounded knee, and has to fight the urge not to belch and throw up.

Multiple metal spikes extruded out of it's sides, jutting all the way out and effectively exposing flesh and bone that laid underneath torn skin as it pierced within the ruptured joint.

"W-what are you...?" Adam rasped through the lump forcing it's way on his throat.

Adam heard a loud gasp as something rustled from behind him, before the rustling stopped completely as he felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck.

"Coward!" Adam barked behind his back right on time to feel a wisp of air crackle and pop against his cheek. "I'd thought you different, but it looked like I was wrong. You're just like the rest of them! Just like Blake!"

"A coward I may be, but at least I'll be able to live to tell the tale!" The voice drew further and further away, becoming nothing more then a muffled sound in the wind.

Before he had a chance to reply, his instincts let him roll sideways while the tree behind him exploded.

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!**

"Gah!" In an instant, Adam went from dodging to being pinned down, hissing out as relentless pain forced it's way onto his elbows he struggled to keep both steel mandibles open from snapping his face off. Gloved hands rattled against steel as they rattled and groaned to force themselves close.

"Bastard..." Adam snarled as he stared into it's gaping mouth, where the ambient light around them bounced around the glinting black, causing a face of a man to be visible, if only barely.

The rest of it's features remained enshrouded in shadows, and for the span of a few seconds, with all his concentration focused on keeping him alive, he could only make out gleaming black eyes that glinted of murderous vengeance, along with lips twisted into a furious snarl.

"So... you came to seek vengeance for the death of your kin I've slain?!" Adam roared as he slipped underneath, before sliding and letting go to evade the black beast's maw from further bruising his hands, who crashed head first into a tree with an angered roar with all the winded up momentum sprung like a coil. "Well come on then, I'm right here!"

Adam then reached to his side to grasp what wasn't there, cursing under his breath as a mixture of dust and sawdust puffed up to form an ominous cloud.

He was a swordsman after all, and even when he was not specialized in hand to hand combat, he would prefer not to engage in it against one that trained all their life to master it.

Engaging against a trained brawler with close combat unarmed was foolish. A heavily armored opponent? Even more so.

"Tch… that adolescent brat." Adam cursed as a towering blur of black emerged from the dust that puffed up. "If it wasn't for her you wouldn't even be standing right now. You could thank her for that, for all the good sacrificing her life did."

Before Adam could manage to react, the dark armor burst through the clouds as they parted, and was on him once again.

"Argh!" He screamed in pain as steel claws forced themselves into his thighs, digging deep into his legs, before it's maws opened in an uncanny manner that would've snapped if any other living thing tried to force it's jaws apart that far.

The metal jaws chomped down, and would have torn the entirety of his lower abdomen off if it wasn't for his arms reacting accordingly. His forearm caught it's upper jaw while it's lower jaw was held by the faunus's other arm.

Sharp pain jolted his entire body. Both his arms, his thighs, everywhere seemed to hurt.

He grit his teeth to mitigate the shock his body is taking and, curling one of his hands into a ball, tried to smash it's skull open while he used his free leg to keep black jaws open.

"Why won't you die?!" Adam tossed and turned in another attempt to maneuver around the bipedal creature, but the beast budge, and it sure as hell wasn't going to let the same mistake happen twice. "What are you fighting for? This isn't even your war!"

The umbral armor didn't answer, but swatted his pounding arm away in annoyance.

"I've won." Adam managed a bitter laugh, even in the deathbed he was sitting on. "I've come here for Blake. Here to break her, humiliate her as she did me, to cause her to be in as much pain as possible."

"**Then in that prospect... you have failed.**"

Adam glanced at the beast.

"So... it speaks." Adam chuckled in defeat, knowing the impasse they were currently locked in wasn't going anywhere. "So, what do you mean I've failed?"

"**You act as if you could break her like a twig.**" A low rumbling growl resonated from within, as if somebody was speaking directly from it's throat. "**That might be true if she hadn't found friends, here, at Beacon.**" The dark being chuckled darkly.

"And such fragile _friends_ they turned out to be." Adam scoffed. "For they break like glass, and so will she."

"**Sure she may look broken now, but you fail to see past that. What do you think would break her more?**" The deep voice questioned. "**Seeing her friends die a hero? Or live long enough to become a villan?**"

Adam nearly balked at that, before he regained his composure. "You're not making any sense..."

"**The moment she left you act as if the world revolves around only you, that you're the only one hurt**."

"That's because she was-!"

"**Your world?**" It finished, and would he have features, would've raised a brow, causing Adam to grind his teeth together, but didn't deny it. "**Then why didn't you chase after her the moment she left? Try to explain to her that it wasn't what she thought it was? To pursue her in order to chase the affection you once sought?**"

"I... I..."

"**You continued to kill even when she begged for you to stop. You continued to commit to your ideals even when she gave her honest opinion of what she thought about it. It ate at her, consumed her, and eventually, even changed the way she saw things. It changed her.**"The dark being's jaws clamped down a little tighter, but gained no reaction as the black cloaked swordsman actually considered the words. "**You changed her.**"

"She-"

"**Wanted this? Not at all. That you killed all those people for her? Don't pin all the blood on your hands on Blake. She did what she had to it because she might have loved you at one point in time, Adam. But you see love as a one way street when it's supposed to be mutual. Dominant? Not at all. Abusive? Yes.**"

"Shut up..."

"**I'll tell you why Blake won't love you back.**"

"Shut up!"

"**Because you don't love Blake, Adam Taurus.**" It sniggered. "**You never did.**"

"Raaaargh!" Adam roared, even with the vice maw that clamped around his forearm, spluttering more fresh blood then ever necessary if he remained still.

**ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

Without a moment spared, the armor flung Adam up by his arm, causing him to yell in pain as he skyrocketed towards the sky and followed by leaping upwards.

_BOOM_

The dragon stumbled as it dragged the entirety of it's body amongst the forest, uprooting thousands of aged trees that creaked and shuddered.

The umbral knight and Adam then came down with a plop and a thud respectively, the latter landing on his broken arm on the gargantuan's scaly hide.

Adam screamed as more pain emanated and burned.

As if nothing happened, they staggered to get up, seemingly forgetting what they were on and using the gargantuan Grimm as a plateau for them to walk on.

"**You broke Blake long ago, but you won't ever have that pleasure ever again.**" It snarled. "**I'll make sure of it.**"

_Shift_

"How would you know..." Adam gasped for air as the last of his energy left his body, his breaths coming out.

"**I'll teach you...**" The armor stomped forwards, managing a brisk walk even against the slimy plates that eschewed all friction. "**How to properly break someone.**"

"How would..." Adam tried again as the armor approached him. "How..."

"**How would I know how you feel?**" The umbral armor asked as he lifted the faunus's body over it's head as he lifted one leg up, specifically, his supposedly broken one, in a 90 degree angle.

"**The answer is simple.**" It shook it's head in dismal. "**I loved her too.**"

Adam's neck struggled, shaking as he tried to meet the dark armor's eyes.

"Y-?" Adam ground his teeth as claws dug into his back. "Y-you?" Adam managed to hiss even as his body went against his will, pulsating with never ending pain. "L-love?!"

"**That's why I let her go.**"

Adam's body barreled down.

"LOU STOP!"

**_A/N_**

**Man, I really wish I could've kept up with the 2 - 1 - 2 week pattern, my oh my did I try. Ah well, things never go according to plan when you want it to anyway. Ugh... hopefully next week would be better.**

**So, we're currently at 3 when there are currently a total of 7 Volumes. Think we can catch up by same time next year? **

**Reviewer Sessions**

**zeldawolffang (Chapter 43): Sorry mah dude, I wouldn't do it if I could help it.**

**sacke110 (Chapter 43): Hmm, I wonder, did I write something about that in oh... I don't know, chapter 32 or something? Whoops xD. Kevin would be the only one who was introduced properly.**

**paradox0.5white (Chapter 43): "You die now Stomach!" Nope.**

**The Inquisitor (Chapter 43): You heard no such thing. *Waves hand***


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N**

**Long reply to a reviewer later on at the bottom, but it's so long and general that it could be applied to all my readers if you guys want to read it, so might as well consider it an A/N. Won't affect the story length in any way. So read or read not, it's your decision. Just a heads up. **

_Amber's POV_

_Squelch_

"Gaaaaah!"

The red reaper screamed as sharp pain pierced her senses.

"Hold on Ruby..." Blake muttered, trying her best not to look away as the small girl squirmed under the intense heat applied by the maiden as she put pressure on her core. "Please... don't die." She breathed out. "Not like this."

"Aaaaaahhh!"

"Hold her down!" Amber hissed as the black haired girl writhed around in what must have felt like unbearable pain.

"Are you sure you're doing it right?!" Jaune yelled as he gripped Ruby's wrist, trying to keep the young leader stable, trying hard to keep Pyrhha's stitchings intact.

"Well she's awake isn't she?" Kevin grumbled to himself, but it went ignored except for Jaune, who shot a ferocious glare back.

"I don't know!" The maiden barked back as she tried to concentrate on the wound.

"Mr Arc, unless you have a miracle you're keeping behind your back that would be very useful if you could pull out right now mind you, I suggest you keep quiet and let the Fall Maiden concentrate!" Glynda snapped, causing the blonde knight to shrink.

"Sorry..." Jaune apologized with a wince as he forced his concentration back on the small girl's gaping flesh.

"Ruby..." Pyrrha muttered as she held out her hand weakly, the latter coiling over the other lest she wanted it to rattle and shake as pain lanced up her thighs, specifically, from where her ankle was almost blown clean off.

She grit her teeth through the pain as she used her semblance to weave intricate patterns over the girl's skin, causing her to whimper and jerk each time the large needle pierced skin.

Glynda shook her head in frustration as she stabilized her crop, trying to keep the exposed flesh as close to each other as possible.

"There, done! Now let me do the other side." Amber said as she scrambled over.

"I can't... hold it... any... longer." Pyrrha struggled to get out as her shoulders slumped and dropped to 1 knee, but she held her hand steady.

"Just a little longer." Amber reassured as her palm's blazed, and Ruby's back sizzled.

"YAAAAAAAAAHHH!" She screamed out in pain, her back arching as she tried to avoid the heat, but Jaune's vice grip held firm.

Her eyes shot wide open for a brief moment, before they rolled up to the back of her skull and her body dropped back down on the floor with a thud.

...

...

…

A few seconds passed, then a solid minute.

"Done..." Amber sighed in relief as the glow on her palm died down.

She fell back down on her rear, giving the ground a loud crunch.

Almost immediately, the trio rushed to Ruby's side.

"Ruby?" Jaune muttered with a voice with a glimmer of hope as he laid her flat on her back.

"Ru...by?" Pyrrha echoed after him as she fell beside the blonde.

"Wake up..." Blake whispered as her eyes glinted with what little hope she had left. "Say something. Please wake up."

...

...

"No..." Blake gasped and scrunched her eyes shut as she didn't want to accept the reality of it. "It can't be..."

"No." Pyrrha gasped as she put her hand on her mouth, tears stung the edge of her eyes.

"You said we could save her!" Jaune roared, eyes widening as he exchanged glances between the maiden and his first friend at Beacon.

"I said we could try." The maiden looked at the floor. "I never said it woul-"

_Cough _

_Cough_

Their eyes widened like dinner plates, darting left and right to search for the source.

"H...uh...?" A weak voice croaked in confusion.

"RUBY!" Everybody shouted at the same time, before they wrapped her in a tight hug, seemingly all at the same time.

"Woah, what's going... on...?" The small girl, still half dazed, asked in confusion. "And why does my... stomach hurt?"

She felt the figures that wrapped her in a warm embrace, then it took but a moment to realize who they were.

"Blake...? Why are you crying? Why's Jaune here? Pyrhha too? Ehhh?"

"We almost lost you..." Jaune croaked through the lump in his throat.

"Lost... me?" Ruby slurred as if waking up from a bad hangover.

"Yeah..." Blake sobbed, voice muffled through Ruby's uninjured side. "You don't... remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Nothing." Blake sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Yeah..." Pyrhha agreed.

"As much as I'd hate to break up this heartwarming reunion..." Amber sighed as she struggled to get up. "Our task is far from over."

"She's right." Jaune realized as he wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. "We need to get out of here. That dragon Grimm is too much for us to handle and it's about to-"

"If only it were so easy." Kevin cut off with a drastic sigh as everybody shot them confused looks. "Do you wanna tell them or should I?"

Everybody just kept staring at the pair, waiting for at least one of them to explain.

"I guess I'll do the honors." The maiden grumbled as she got up. "We don't have much time." She said, making sure to look in everyone's eyes as she said that. Nobody commented, but they returned it with confused expressions. "So I'm gonna make this as brief as possible."

A bone chilling howl erupted from the direction of the Emerald forest, along with a loud rumble of something crashing, followed by the crunching of what must have been large twigs. Very large twigs.

"Miss Goodwitch, what... is that thing?" Pyrhha stammered as she hugged her arms, running them up and down to try and soothe her goosebumps.

"That thing... is Louis." Amber continued as she took in a deep breath.

"You're... joking." Jaune scoffed off in a bitter laugh. "Haven't you guys heard the news? He.." Jaune gave an apologetic glance at Blake and Ruby as he did. "He died."

"He isn't." Amber insisted. "Not yet at least, but he's going to if we don't hurry."

"How do you know... Louis?" Blake asked as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh for crying out loud. That's Evans!" Kevin hissed in frustration.

Everybody dumbfoundedly glared at the maiden.

"Yeah... uh... hi?" She grinned while scratching the back of her head.

Weapons rasped out of their sheaths and were on her throat in but a moment's notice.

"Yeah... " She sighed as she held both hands up. "I'd figured this would happen."

"Talk." Blake demanded, fingers wrapped around Gambol Shroud's trigger.

_Shift_

"**You broke Blake long ago, but you won't ever have that pleasure ever again.**" The black knight snarled. "**I'll make sure of it.**"

_Shift_

"I know this is a lot for you to take in right now, but we don't have time to explain it all." Kevin said as he cut through the crowd of angry students. "Glynda was it?" He asked the blonde lecturer.

The teacher nodded.

"Usually, only Ozpin has the mind and authority of ordering me around, but seeing as you saved more than one." She mused as she saw Yang and Weiss still sprawled out on the floor. Unhurt, but unconscious. "Of my student's lives, should Miss Belladona's words speak true, then I am in your debt."

"Now would be a good way to repay it. I don't like to be indebted to either." Kevin agreed. "You, redhead and little blonde bitch come with me. Teenage emo ninja catgirl and goth loli, go with Evans to save Louis."

"Blonde bitc- Why you-!"

"Save... him?" Blake muttered as Pyrhha held her boyfriend back, seemingly forgetting about their prime target.

"But you killed him!" Ruby blurted out while gritting her teeth, Cresent Rose falling to her side with a loud thud as she held her wound.

"That... I did." Amber sighed as the weapons around her neck rattled. "Look, we don't have the time to explain all of this. Do you want to help or not? Honestly, we can't do this on our own."

Blake and Ruby looked at each other with a raised brow each, confused as to what to say or do.

"Like Kevin said..." Amber pointed out. "We have no time to waste. Do you want to actually see him die?"

"N...no..." Ruby muttered, and the rest hesitated to lift their weapons off her neck.

"But..." She looked over to the other half of the group already being split in two. "Where are they going? Why can't we go together?"

"They... are going to stop the dragon." Amber said as she ushered them away.

"I still don't like the plan." Kevin pointed out. "That thing is as big, if not, bigger than a Metal Gear Excelsus and has capabilities of a Salehntropus. If we miss, Beacon's as good as fucked."

"I don't know what you're saying, but it sounds bad." Ruby said. "We should go toget-!"

"None of us are in any condition to fight." Amber cut off before the small girl could complain, and a quick nod to Kevin set him and the others off. "At least not in hand to hand."

"Then how _do_ we stop Louis or the Grimm?" Blake asked, her eyes narrowing into stilts. "I saw what that thing is capable of, and none of us are in any condition to fight, just like you said." She recited. "So how do you propose we stop him?"

"Well.." Amber muttered as she took out 2 dark rods.

Both girl's shoulder's tensed and eyes widened as they were immidiately on edge.

The obsidian rods with intricate rose patterns engraved around it were unmistakable.

"How did you get your hands on those, and don't you even dare." Blake snarled as she crouched, ready to pounce on the maiden at a moment's notice.

"Didn't even cross my mind." Amber said as she tossed them away, and only then, did Blake's shoulders relaxed.

"Still doesn't explain why they couldn't come with us." Ruby mumbled as the other half of the group were nothing but dots in a distance.

"We won't make it fast enough if we travel together."

"And traveling with only the 3 of us... will?" Blake questioned with a raised brow.

"Whoever said we'll be traveling on foot?" Amber smirked.

_Shift_

"**I'll teach you...**" The dark armor stomped forwards, managing a brisk walk even against the slimy plates that eschewed all friction. "**How to properly break someone.**"

_Shift_

"A-are you sure this is safe?" Ruby stuttered as she placed her hand on the kneeling maiden, Blake mirroring the action on the other side as she clutched onto Gambol Shroud's hilt tighter, pointing it towards the ground.

Amber paid it no mind, and instead scrunched her eyes and concentrated while she placed both hands on her knees.

"Nope." Amber admitted with a seemingly calm tone. "But when is it ever in Remnant?"

Ruby grumbled something under her breath, probably a silent prayer, and then nodded grimly.

"Alright hang on, this will feel a little... weird."

"How weiaaaaaAAAAHH!?"

An ethereal shroud soon enveloped them, glowing light blue as it wisped the trio. Blake and Ruby looked at each other with uncertainty in their eyes as heat started to creep up from the tips of their toes, rapidly growing and spreading throughout their body as if exposed to a naked bonfire.

Then, almost all at once, that heat was ripped as all 3 bodies convulsed once, and the temperature fell below freezing.

"W-w-whaa-aat?!" Ruby's teeth chattered amongst the bottom half, before her eyes widened at the sight of her own body slumping and falling over.

"W-where... are we?" Blake asked as she looked around, her eyes widening as she looked down.

She felt lightheaded and weightless, her eyes blinking every now and then to make sure that this was real and wasn't just a dream.

She would've pinched herself, but her hands just passed through each other, hissing and dissipating into white smog.

It was still her body, just translucent, pale as the snow and wrapped with white corporeal mist that seemed to dance around whenever she moved.

"Where are... Evans?" Blake almost reeled back at the sight of a familiar yet at the same time, not so friendly presence as she looked at someone who was no longer the woman with copper skin and brown hair.

Replacing her, was but a lightly built man with a green and white striped shirt, curly hair, though wreathed in the same pale, ethereal glow they were all in.

"Yeah, I know," He sighed apologetically. "We're in the astral plane."

"H-how?"

"My semblance. No time, we have to hurry."

"Wait... we're... GHOSTS?!" Ruby yelled, before zipping off in a trail of petals.

"Ruby wait!" Evans shouted. "Great..." He deadpanned. "Louis told me she was scared of the supernatural but... Ugh."

"Stay here." he said as he turned to face Blake. "I'll go get her, then we can get Louis together."

Blake hesitated at the sight of the man who killed her teammate, but nodded anyways.

_Blake's POV_

_This is... new. _She said as she looked at her hands, and tried to clap them only for them to pass through. _I guess this is what the books on meditation were talking about when they were saying something about an out of body experience..._

"Ruby?! Come out!" Evans yelled as his corporeal body floated away.

_..._

_Damnit Ruby..._

_The more time we waste here the closer Louis is to death's doors._

Blake watched as Evans hovered further and further away, and once he was out of sight, Blake turned around, and bolted.

_And I'm not about to sit back and watch him die._

_Not now._

_Not again._

"Hold on..." Blake tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, only to realize that she didn't need to, as if she was in a vacuum. "Don't die yet. I'm coming."

_Shift_

"Come on, it's okay." Evans reassured as he extended an arm out. "Don't be scared."

"B-b-but I'm a spirit! Dead! A ghost!" She cried as she put both hands to her cheeks. "What if I see other spirits after this?! What if I see mom? Would she be covered in blood from head to toe?!"

"Yes, no, no and no, also in case you haven't noticed, you aren't the only one in this form." Evans replied. "I am too, and so is 't worry, remember, we're doing this for Louis."

"F-for... L-Louis?" Ruby looked up with tears in her eyes, her look resembling that of a kicked puppy, which Evans had to force himself to resist.

"Yes." Evans sighed in relief as Ruby crawled- more appropriately, phased through a hole in a hollow trunk. "I'll make sure you get back to your bodies right after this. Right after we save Louis. I promise."

"O-okay..."

"Right, Blake we have to-"

Evans froze.

"Blake..?" Evans asked as he scanned the area.

Nothing.

Blake was no longer there.

...

...

"Shit."

_Blake's POV_

_Where are they...? _Blake wandered around aimlessly as she searched around the Emerald Forest.

_With the amount of destruction they leave in their wake, they have to be here somewhere nearby... _

_"How would..."_

_..._

_"How..."_

_"**How would I know how you feel?**" _

_Those voices..._

_There's no mistaking it! _

Blake then zipped off with the agility of a Beowolf, covering literal leaps and bounds as she tried to detect the source.

_Come on... where are you Louis..._

_Don't do this to me,_

_Not again._

_"**The answer is simple...**"_

There!

She turned at a sharp angle as she followed her natural instincts, sending her body phasing through a few trunks before she drifted to a complete halt in a large clearing.

"Woah..." Blake gasped at the mere sight of the Gargantuan that seemed to be deep in slumber, having knocked itself out of solid ground.

_ It looked smaller from afar..._

_It wouldn't stay like that for long though,_ Blake told herself internally as the beast gave off a low growl._ Not good! I have to find Loui-_

_"**I loved her too.**"_

Blake froze.

_That... wasn't Adam..._

"Y-you?"

Blake floated up to get a better view of the situation. She peeked over right over the dragon's hide to see her crimson haired ex hefted above the dark armor's arms, right over his head as he lifted one knee that looked beyond repair, bent where it shouldn't have been possible.

"L-love?!" Adam rasped.

"**That's why I let her go.**"

_No..._

_This is all wrong..._

Adam's body barreled down.

Blake opened her mouth to scream out his name.

_Shift_

"LOU STOP!"

Adam's body clumsily bounced of his barbed knee, crunching slightly under the speed he was going at and landed on the dragon's scaly hide, before he desperately tried to claw himself a good grip, but to no avail.

His body slid off the Grimm as it's slimy scales with multiple scratching sounds trailing after it.

All while the dark figure watched as standing with both hands slumped on either sides, and it looked at it's arms in disbelief, rattling and shaking sporadically as if having a seizure.

It's knees buckled as it spread it's arms out as sharp pain travelled up it's skull.

**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGH!**

_Blake's POV_

Hot...

It's burning hot...

Those were the only words to describe what Blake was feeling right now.

_What is... this place?_ Blake asked herself as she stared at nothingness.

"There's nothing here... "

Nothing but a dark void.

Yet, it felt like she was right next to the sun.

Just when she thought it was impossible, she choked as a dark miasma seemed to fill up her lungs, before a bone chilling howl rang in both sets of ears.

She wasn't alone.

_There's... something else here..._

Beneath her, the ground seemed to shift as she landed on what felt like... grass.

_Wait... I thought I was... intangible?_

"What the...?!"

Without warning, the land beneath her shifted, causing her to fall backwards and land on her rear.

"Ow... just where... GAAAAAH!"

She screamed on top of her lungs as she stared at the mere sight of what was once the ground.

The once empty space wasn't so empty anymore.

One lightning shaped eye stared back at her, the crimson glow pulsating at a steady pace as it eyed her warily.

_Grimm...?_

_No._

She can feel life behind it, and if it were Grimm, it's hunger for fear would've sent it into a frenzy right about now.

She was intangible as of right now. Evans said it himself.

A Grimm wouldn't be able to hurt her.

She had a feeling that this... thing... can.

In an instant, dazzling light exploded outwards, paralyzing Blake and knocking her backwards as she tried to shield her eyes with both hands.

It was but a moment, before it died down to a bearable amount.

As she blinked the stars out of her eyes, both pairs of ears twitched as it tried to detect any nearby danger.

Her mind told her to relent and put her hands down, but Blake herself was on edge as she shook with fear.

_Just where... is this place?_

A minute passed, then two. After some time passed and the creature beneath her clearly wasn't going to attack her, Blake finally found the courage to crack some space between her fingers to take a peek.

She gasped as a glowing black orb floated lazily a good 30 meters away, and surrounding it, a corporeal crimson glow. It resembled an eclipsed sun, though what set it different was what surrounded it.

Fire.

Not just regular fire, black fire. The demonic fire burned and hissed, sizzled without any fuel that was visible her naked eye, and seemed to be guarding what looked like a spherical black egg.

A tormented scream echoed throughout the vast expanse of the void around her, the only source of light being either the dark sphere itself, or the glowing eye placed beneath it.

She couldn't help but feel half relieved.

"So he was alive after all."

_Louis..._ Blake thought as she held one hand in front of her to attempt to mitigate the heat, and slowly edged closer towards the dark orb. The fire spat at the sight of her, as if it has a mind of it's own, but Blake didn't seemed to care, even as it threatened to singe her to charcoal.

"Louis..."

**Shift**

Nothing but darkness enshrouded the figure as it held out it's arms outstretched in front of it, unable to see what was in front or around him.

"**Where... am I?**"

"_Louis..._"

His shoulders tensed as he sensed a presence more then just his own. The whisper washed as cold air rushed against naked skin, enough to make the hairs on the back of his head to stand.

He looked around frantically as he tried to pinpoint the source, but there was no light to indicate who or what is lurking in front of him.

"**Louis...?**"

"_Louis..._"

There it was again, louder this time. The whisper grew somewhat audible, the distance felt closer.

He reached out in front of him.

_Shift_

"GAAAAAH!" Blake screamed as the dark flames lashed out at her legs, sizzling and hissing as it bent to form dark tendrils, when it should have been all but possible.

It definitely wasn't normal fire. Far from it.

Not if it could burn her in her spectral form.

"**You...**"

The deep voice resonated from beneath her as the ground shifted once more, shaking her off her feet as a bulbous mass started to form in front of her, erecting like a dark tendril as it twisted into a dark lupine form.

The crimson eye beneath her got swept along with the tectonic shift, like fish in a river, before it split evenly into two, and crept up on both sides of it's face or... snout.

Rows of razor sharp teeth shot up from both it's top jaws then bottom jaws, before it gave off a bloodcurdling howl.

"**You...**" The gruff voice echoed after itself.

"Me...?" Blake had the nerve to ask.

"**Born with... no life, into subjection. Treated... like a... worthless animal.**"

He's... talking about my faunus heritage?

"I'm not here for me!" Blake shook her thoughts off. "Where's Louis? Where are you keeping him?!"

The creature might've blinked if it had any eyelids. "**He's right in front of you.**"

"The egg...?"

"**A prison.**" It specified.

"A pri- why would he be in a prison?!"

**_Shift_**

...

Nothing.

He latched onto thin air, and nothing else.

In fact...

Was it just him? Or did the air around him just got heavier to breathe? As if it decided to remain in his lungs, with no hope of expelling it out.

_Air..._

_Breathe?_

_..._

_What was breathing again?_

...

_Shift_

"**A prison is where he belongs.**" The dark being explained as it's arm sprouted out of it's limbless body, and acted like it's a normal feat, like a lizard growing out a tail it once lost.

"What is this place?!"

"**You couldn't even tell?**" It asked with a deep dark chuckle that left the hair behind Blake's neck standing.

The demonic entity gestured once more, and caused Blake's hand to shift above her head to reach for her back, only to realize Gambol Shroud was no longer there.

Multiple screens flickered to life around them displaying nothing but white noise, distorted and bounded into a spherical shape.

"What do you me-"

"_Excuse me madame._" The waiter interupted. "_Your fish and chips._"

Blake froze as she stared at the screen.

"_I didn't order..._" She said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"_I did._" Louis said, gesturing towards the table, where the waiter had set the platter. He then pushed the food so that it rested in front of Blake.

Blake's eyes widened as she saw herself stare at the platter while her stomach growled.

"_On the house._" Louis shrugged.

"How... Why are you showing me this?"

The screen flickered as it moved on to another memory.

"_I-I do... You arranged the meeting with Sun. Don't get me wrong. He's a sweet guy and all, I can see that's why you set me up. A-and..."_

No...

"_And...?_"

"Stop..."

"_And also you brought me those Fish and Chips on our first date._"

"_Blake. I told you, that was-_"

"Stop!"

"_Yeah, that Service thing. I don't understand what it was, and I never will unless you tell me. But that day I started to like you..._"

"_You don't have to answer now. I just... wanna tell you how I feel._"

"STOP SHOWING ME THIS!" Blake screamed as she ducked down, her arms clamping down atop her head to cover her sensitive ears.

"_Thank you but..._"

"_I...I can't..._"

"Why...?" Blake asked as tears welled up in her eyes, angry tears cascading down the side of her cheeks as she glared at the entity. "Why show me this at all?!"

The dark presence didn't answer, and instead snickered.

"_O-oh..._" The Blake on screen muttered as Louis made his way out of the room.

A lonely tear rolled down Louis's face, and into the holographic screen on his scroll. Evans's contact appeared on the screen, and he tapped it.

"_Hmmyeah what's up Louis? It's like... 6 p.m._"

"_Blake's up._"

"_We can't romance with the main cast man. You know that screws them up real bad. We aren't even from same worlds._"

He's... scared to try because we're from different worlds?

"_Welp, what's done is done._"

"_Yeap, just sealed the deal with that one. I just hope I won't have to seal any more deals._"

The screen flickered again as it transitioned to another memory.

"_You know that that isn't gonna happen right?_"

"_The talk or dating Ruby?_"

"_Dating Ruby._"

He...

"_Not this again._" Evans facepalmed as we both leaned back against the stone pillar. "_First Blake now Ruby?_"

They didn't... it wasn't... a date...?

"_I don't even know if she likes me in that way or not._" Louis scoffed, though he doesn't sound very confident in his own statement. "_What if she just got overly excited and did what she thought was suitable as a compensation?_"

"_And kissed you?!_" Evans yanked at his hair. "_She probably gave you her first kiss as well. It's not something that you just... do out of a whim._"

Ruby...?

She...

"_Maybe it's puberty?_" He shrugged off.

"_It has nothing to do with her age._" Louis sighed as he looked down with a sad smile. "_It's..._"

"_You can't bring yourself to like any of the main cast in that way._"

So he can't... even if he wants to.

"_You know it's killing you inside. Deep down, I know you love all of them equally._"

Another flickering distortion in the screen before it skipped further into the conversation.

"_I mean, how many times have we watched stuff where the hero doesn't get the girl?_"

"_Who said we're heroes?_"

"**Still can't figure it out yet?**" It chuckled as Blake just stared wide eyed at the memories being played around, her face going through a myriad of expressions.

"**This is his mind.**" The dark beast chuckled. "**More specifically, his soul.**"

"Release him... " Blake demanded with a snarl. "This is supposed to be his mind, not yours!"

"**We are one and the same, him and I.**" It managed a sigh, despite it's bestial appearance. "**Unfortunately, you don't seem to get that.**"

Blake's shoulders tensed up and her knees bent, ready to dodge if necessary for whatever good it'll do her.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"**You think darkness is your ally,**" It explained as another arm sprouted on the other side. "**But you merely adopted the dark.**"

With a sickening squelch, it pulled itself free as it expanded it's size, growing what seemed to be the size of an Alpha Beowolf into somewhat twice of a Goliath.

"**I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man by then it was nothing to me but blinding!**"

The beast completely detached from the floor and lunged at her.

"Watch out!"

Someone pushed her out of the way as the creature crashed onto the floor, becoming one with it once more.

"Who...?"

"Damn that stings!" Evans yelped as he tried to pat out the dark fire that caught his spectral clothing.

"Evans?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, hi. I believed I told you to stay put?"

"I... I thought..."

"Blake!" Ruby yelled as she barreled into the faunus. "Where did you go? I was so scared you'd turn into a ghost permanently!"

"I-"

"What is this place?" Ruby asked as she finally noticed the darkness she was surrounded in. "I-it's... actually quite dark and scary."

"**Hello, little one.**"

"Eeeep!"

The dark figure rose out of the depths, taking the form of a quadrupedal wolf with a sharp snout and crimson eyes.

"So... that's what his inner demons look like." Evans pondered as he scratched his chin.

It's cocky smirk turned into an ugly frown.

"**Evans...**"

"And it seems to know me."

"Is that a good thing?" Blake asked.

"Depends. Hey!" Evans called out. "Think you could release Louis from that black ball made of symbiote goo?!"

"**No.**"

"Think you could be kind enough to tell us how to break it?"

"**No.**"

"Okay..." Evans sighed. "That's not helpful at all."

"Louis is in there?!" Ruby balked at the hovering shadowy sphere. "We have to help him!"

"That thing isn't gonna let us." Blake sighed. "Even if we do get close enough, that flame is gonna burn us. I tried."

Evans seemed to perk up as he shot up to his feet.

"Can we at least try?"

"**N-**" It caught itself and appeared deep in thought for a moment, before it seemed to relax.

"**If you would be foolish enough to try and walk through those flames. Be my guest.**" It chuckled a reply in contradiction to it's previous denials. "**Be warned, they can be very hot.**"

"Yeah, I get that." Evans deadpanned as he stared at his charred arm. "You're made out of it."

"**That, I am.**"

"Weren't you listening?" Blake sighed as she pinched her nose ridge. "It won't work."

"You didn't even manage to touch it." Evans retorted when Ruby shrunk. "We'll get him out."

"How can you be so sure?" The small reaper asked.

"We will." Evans reassured as he stared at the egg.

**_Shift_**

"Hey Louis! You gonna come out of your shell or what?"

_That name again..._

_..._

_Who's name is it?_

_Shift_

"It's not working." Ruby grumbled as the dark being looked like it was about to burst out laughing.

"**You really think shouting is gonna help? Then yell your throats out.**"

Evans didn't relent.

"Remember who you are! Remember earth!"

**Shift**

_Earth...?_

_..._

_..._

_Shift_

The dark being roared with laughter as nothing happened.

"**Y-you really think that's gonna save your f-friend?**"

"No." Evans replied with a calm smile. "Not yet at least."

"Remember the people who were with you through the dark times!" Evans shouted despite it being nothing but a muffled scream through the creature's sinister laughter. "Remember why you're in there in the first place!"

**_Shift_**

"**The reason... I'm... here?**"

_Shift_

"Remember those you care about!"

**Shift**

Those I care about...

A red blur slipped passed, followed by a black silhouette, a glimmer of white and then a bright yellow flash.

_Shift_

"Remember team RWBY!"

**_Shift_**

_Team... RWBY?_

A tiny prickle of light cracked the void through the sphere surrounding him, blinding him temporarily as he shifted both his hands to block the light.

"Ruby... Blake..."

_Shift_

_Crackle_

_Pop_

The dark beast's laughter ceased immediately.

"Remember-!"

"Louis!"

The small voice carried all the way to the orb, causing it to crack just a little further.

Evans gave off a genuine smile when he saw the red reaper by his side, beaming in a way that could've split her face in two.

"See?" Evans couldn't help but grin as he stared at a gaping Blake, who's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Told ya it would work."

**A/N**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Deus (Chapter 43): Hi! Thank you for taking the time to write an honest review, I really do appreciate it. Apologies in advance for this super long reply, but since you are a Guest, I can't PM this to you. Now, for the tags, I sincerely do apologize. In all honesty, I can't imagine a story without any antagonistical force to challenge the protags without any banter exchange between them. For reference, refer to Couer Al Aran's Professor Arc as an example, where it was humorous (With conflicts) all the way until the Fall, where it gets serious for the next 7 chapters or so. Sure he did put a few humorous things in a couple of chapter's nooks and crannies (Which I did try to put these past few chapters), but most of it ended up being serious anyways that it didn't really matter. I really am sorry for throwing the red herring at you, and will take your critique into account, this is my first time writing what's basically a novel after all. I'm trying to wrap this arc up as fast as I possibly can, because in all honesty, I don't really like writing doom and gloom stuff, that's why they take so long to write, since I struggle with em, but they are necesarry, in my POV. If you expect this to be a story without any weight, I really do apologize, since I've made it clear early on (Chapter 6's A/N) That there will be ups and downs. Stories with all fun and games without weight is just... not great, in my opinion.**

**Now, what I don't appreciate or respect in any way, is you telling me to completely stop writing this story. First of all, you have to understand that you are reading for FREE. You aren't the one commissioning this story in any way, and I wouldn't have it that way. I am not advertising anything and do not make any money out of this, which I could by writing alternate paths or endings and all that shniz, but I don't think readers of any stories would like that. My only objective is to write for fun and, this being a fan based passion project, pray to god that most people enjoy it. Thus, you have no right to tell someone (Not just me) anyone, to stop writing if they're spending their time doing this for you when they could've done something else. You can't force someone to stop writing just like I can't force someone to continue reading.**

**If you're able to write that review of this story as a guest, then I assume that you read all the way throughout this story thus far, and for that, I thank you, really I do. I don't know how you manage to keep up with the updates without either following or favoriting the story itself, but what do I know? I just started writing here this year, after all. I really do appreciate your critique, but if it's this late in the story, then I really can't do anything about it. Should you have done so earlier, then I might have reconsidered options and attempted to replan ahead. I can't go back and re write previous chapters, that would have just 'Insulted' as you put it, the other readers. And to stop writing completely when they've spent their time reading all this way? A rewrite of the whole story? That would've just 'Insulted' them even more. I always treat my readers with the utmost respect, thus why Reviewer Sessions always exist ever since Chapter 20 or so since I feel like a total dick in not interacting to people. Most people would just ignore the reviews, positive or negative, guest or fanfic account, and I don't like that. I always try to interact with the readers when I can (Unless I suddenly get 60 reviews in a chapter as to which, I can't reply to all without clogging it up).**

**Once again, sorry for the long reply, but this is my opinion. Now, onto the other reviewers...**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 43): Adam is such a hard character to write tho... What he's gonna say or what he's gonna do... it's difficult to write without cringing every now and then xD.**

**MrKittyWhiskers (Chapter 43): Then you'll love the ending of this chapter too xD. It's probably the most anime Esque ending I've ever written. Glad you'd like this fic Thanks for reading through! Hope you'll love future chapters even more!**

**Guest (Chapter 43): If you haven't figured it out yet, then... I hope you will someday.**


	45. Chapter 45

"Remember Team RWBY!"

_Crackle _

_Pop_

"**STOP!**"

The command hit the trio like a speeding truck, causing a wave of malevolence to wash over them and resulting in all 3 doubling over on their knees, before they lay flat on what was equivalent to the ground instantly.

Gravity seemed to multiply in the realm they're trapped in, multiplying rapidly with each ticking second.

"W-what's the matter wolfy?" Evans wheezed with a cocky grin as he stared up into crimson eyes. "Afraid to go back to your little cage?"

"**Silence fool!**" It snarled as it held it's ground, thought Evans's smirk proved true.

It had lost it's composure almost immediately, and that gave both members of team RWBY the small twinkle of hope they needed.

"**Just because you think you know me, doesn't mean you could cast me out!**" It snarled as it eyed the sphere warily.

"I'd never... even seen you in person." Evans struggled to get out as he barely propped his body up with his hands. "But now that I do, I know that I can't let you stay."

"**I'm not going back!**" It roared angrily.

"You will." Evans persisted with furrowed brows as sweat continued to form on his forehead from the struggle alone. "Ruby! Blake!"

"On it!" Ruby yelled back, despite the being at odds that worked against her favor. With a short glance to look at the foul creature before her, she immediately made up her mind.

Through the pain, Ruby grit her teeth and yelled. "Louis! Remember when we first met? I called you a coward for not fighting with us, but you've proven to be more capable than any of us!"

_Crack_

"Remember how you set me up with Sun?" Blake added, causing the pair to avert their eyes towards her. "I despised you, thinking it was a dumb idea, and I still do." The cat faunus said as she grasped at her chest as angry tears stung the edge of her eyes. "Remember that you listened to me throughout my life story? Remember when you got me those fish and chips and spewed coffee all over my hair?!"

_Crackle_

_Pop_

"Remember when you got me a triple scooped ice cream and cookies, telling me it was bad for me to consume too much sugar?!"

_Crack_

"The time you tried to fight a Giant Nevermore alone because you wanted to be in the tournament?!"

The crack got wider and wider as milky white light rays leaked through the black hole, spreading rapidly in a spider web pattern like a prick through tempered glass.

"**No! NO! Stop!**" It roared in outrage as it lunged at the trio to silence them once and for all. "**STOOOOOP!**"

"Remember the people you want to keep and protect!" Evans strived on. "The smiles you want to maintain! The image you want to achieve!"

_Crackle_

_BOOM_

The sphere exploded outwards with overwhelming force, sending shards of shrapnel flying in every direction as it knocked everybody off their feet and blinded them simultaneously.

_"**NOOOOOOO!**"_

"Gah!" Blake cried as she was blown away.

"Yaaaaaa!" Ruby yelped.

_Shift_

2 bodies hurtled and rolled multiple times on sharp gravel rubble and debris, bouncing a few times before skidding to a screeching halt.

"Ow ow ow ow..." Ruby squeaked as she rubbed her rear, wincing as it ached and throbbed. "W-what happened?" She asked once she managed to recover with only a few bruises left on her body.

"I think we... we did it." Blake replied as she sighed in relief when she noticed she was back in her physical body, patting herself down of any dust and grime, and even plucking off a dry leaf from her dark hair.

"We... did it?!" Ruby squealed as she shot up to her feet, jittering up and down with renewed energy as she ran to Amber's body. "Hear that Evans?! We did it!"

...

...

The maiden's body didn't move.

"E...Evans?" Ruby stammered as Amber remained still. "Now would be a good time to stop playing dead."

...

...

"He hasn't returned to Amber's body yet?" Blake questioned with a raised brow. "That's... weird."

A sudden rustle of leaves, followed by a cacophony of howls cut through their thoughts, and before long they found themselves surrounded by looming shadows that danced amongst the trees under the dim moonlight.

No, not shadows.

Both members of Team RWBY slowly backed off at the all too familiar presence.

Their unmistakable red eyes glowed, filled with hate and malice, their sharp boney like structures and their primal snarls longing for bloodlust.

Grimm.

More then what they hoped they would never have to face in their career.

Dozens of Beowolves and their Alpha's broke the treeline first as they led the horde, along with a variety of others.

Blake's superior eyes could make out silhouettes of large tusked Boarbatusks being overshadowed by their peers, such as Ursas, their Major counterparts, and worst of all... Goliaths.

What they lack in numbers, they make for in sheer bulk and overwhelming strength.

Each step they took caused a small shockwave to travel outwards which shook and rumbled the ground. Without a care in the world, they strode, and those unfortunate enough to be beneath it by the time of the advancement being bulldozed to death.

Their bulky mass enough to make the rest around them look like ants. Soon, the two members of Team RWBY found themselves surrounded in a thick sea of black.

"W-where did they all come from?!" Ruby asked. "This is bad Blake. Yang and Weiss aren't even awake yet!"

"Tell me about it." Blake's eyes narrowed as she slowly crouched down to slowly pick up Gambol Shroud.

Her eyes scanned the area, slowly backing away as she tried to come up with an escape plan.

_No openings. _

_Just us, Yang, Weiss, the maiden and..._

_And..._

_Wait..._

Blake froze.

"Blake...?" Ruby asked. "What's wrong?"

"A-Adam's sword..." Blake stammered as her breaths came out hitched, full of fear. "C-c... T-"

"Blake wha-"

Ruby's eyes followed Blake's gaze, scanning the area before she realized what Blake meant.

"It's gone."

Not only that.

Both Tyrian's Cinder's bodies as well.

Dragged away, if the carved out path in the dirt was any indication, but that didn't put the pair at ease. On the contrary, it just put them on even more edge as unsettling bile rose from their stomachs.

The fact remains that...

They were all gone.

_Shift_

"**What... the shit...?**"

The dark armor rattled as it staggered to stand upright.

It's eyes blazed blue.

The dragon shifted underneath his feet as it awoke from it's deep slumber.

_Okay, as long as I stay still it shouldn't be able to detect me._

The gargantuan beast craned it's neck as red glowing eyes honed in on the small figure, giving it's target a small puff of hot air with an annoyed snort.

_Fuck me._

**ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR!**

Slobber and hot air rushed past the armor, causing it to cross it's arms to try and prevent itself from slipping off.

Just when he thought it was over, the dragon's throat glowed bright orange.

"**Ah shit!**"

_Blake's POV_

"Careful!" Ruby shouted out as she lousily swung Cresent Rose to barely graze a Beowolf's hide. Nowhere near enough power in her swings to decapitate one, let alone the dozens that stand before them.

_This is bad._

_We're running on fumes. _

"Ru- Agh!"

The world spun around them as the Grimm instantly became nothing but black blurs dancing on the corners of their eyes.

Blake clutched the side of her head with one hand.

It seemed going into astral form had put a mental strain on them.

"Haaah!" Blake yelled on one knee as she aimed in an attempt to shoot an Ursa Major that was lumbering at them in the face, and, to her surprise, missed.

The bullet ricochetted off the side of a Beowolf's claw instead and hit the Boarbatusk behind it, causing it to squeal angrily.

The shot rang in Ruby's ears, snapping her out of her blurred out thoughts to have enough clarity for the young leader to at least clumsily jab the Ursa in the head with the pointy butt of Cresent Rose.

It roared as it's skull cracked, before it's shoulders slumped and it started to hiss away into black vapour.

"B-Blake... " Ruby panted, her eyelids fluttering erratically as she clutched her stomach. "We need... to... get away..."

"I know!" Blake screamed as a sharp pain flared up her thigh in a wide area, prompting Ruby to look back behind her shoulder.

"Blake...?"

Blake's eyes narrowed as it tried to focus on the bruise that seemingly came out of nowhere, before her eyes widened in realization.

The skin seemed more charred than anything, seemingly the injury she gained from the dark fire.

"Grab those 3 and latch on to me," Blake said even as her common sense, the fatigue and the throbbing pain told her to lay down. "I'll use my semblance to distract them as much as I can so that we can get away!"

"B-but you're low on aura!" Ruby yelled. "If you're gonna take all of us with you you won't have any lef-"

A loud clang echoed through the battlefield, prompting Blake to look over her shoulder, right on time to catch a glimpse as Ruby barely managed to defend against an Alpha Beowolf's barreling claw, but her small frame was still sent flying, blasted off her feet like a small petal blown by a strong wind.

She hit her back against the tree before dropping down face first onto dirt with a loud thud.

"Ruby!"

_Damnit... _Blake ground her teeth.

_There's just too many of them. _

Gambol Shroud felt dull in her hands as she steadied herself, amber eyes darting left and right to search for a solution.

A way out.

_We need a distraction, a weapon that could pierce through flesh and bone._

_We need..._

Blake's eyes widened as 2 rods rolled away at the corner of her eyes, kicked away and crushed beneath the weight of multiple Grimm of many sizes, yet remaining cylindrical and in tip top condition.

"That's it!" She shouted and weaved through multiple fangs and claws that would've landed a killing blow were it not for her Semblance.

A few Grimm looked towards the elusive feline, others confused as they rid of the dissapating after image, and chased after their owner, but even more looked towards the small leader, having knocked herself down and seeming unable to get back up.

_Hold on Ruby..._

Blake rolled forwards as she retrieved her teammate's weapon, before reeling a hand back as far as she could and tossing it with what little strength she has left.

"Ruby catch!"

"Huh?"

Ruby lifted her hand and leapt as high as she could, struggling to catch the dark rod as it spun multiple times in the air, bouncing off a multitude of Grimm before it finally reached the small leader.

Even then, she fumbled with it a few times as it juggled in the air, before she finally got a firm grasp on it.

Her eyes widened.

"This..." Ruby muttered as she eyed the weapon.

_Yes!_

"Why would you think I'd know how to use this?!"

...

"What?"

"Why would you think I would know how to use this?!" Ruby repeated louder as she ducked beneath a beefy Ursa's paw.

"You don't have the strength to use Cresent Rose properly!" Blake snapped, causing the young leader to squirm uncomfortably as the two were forced shoulder to shoulder, then back to back as the Grimm closed in even further, with the other 2 members and the maiden still unconscious underneath them. "Besides, weren't you the weapon's expert in our team?" Blake beheaded a Beowolf by clean off it's shoulders, before spinning around and jabbing Obsidian Nova into another's thigh to hamstring it. "I thought you helped Louis to make his weapon."

"Just because I was there helping him craft it doesn't mean I know how to use it." Ruby mumbled as she tried to mimic Blake in terms of her swift jabs and motions that seemed to decapitate or incapacitate most of the Grimm that met it's blade with little effort, only to wobble and teeter awkwardly, with the only thing close to successful being a solid block from and Ursa flailing it's arms wildly, not realizing that the blade was sharper than steel until it's arm dropped to the ground with a loud plop.

"Just... give that to me." Blake groaned as she held her hand out.

The moment the black hilt landed on her palm, she snatched the other hilt away while the Grimm around them rapidly closed in.

_Now..._

_How did Louis do it again...?_

Blake ran her fingers around the rods until she felt it. A small spherical nub on the side. Without hesitation she pressed the circular red button to the sides of the hilts as the rectangular monitor flashed to life, the digital clock beeping an showing 30 seconds on each.

"Blake wait!"

The hilts flared and roared to life, as she was holding the sun in the palms of her hand, but through the pain she grit her teeth and held them firm.

The crimson hilts glowed, slowly at first, and then it pulsated before, in an instant it, was an orange bright light, too bright to look into as red hot flames pouring out of the sides as they threatened to melt it's user.

"GAH!" Ruby yelped as she immediately reeled backwards to shield her eyes.

Blake on the other hand, didn't stare into it, her focus honed in on purely survival.

"Ruby..." She hissed out as she fought through the pain. "Run."

"What?"

"RUN!"

Some minor Grimm snarled at it, while others mindlessly advanced to their doom, stampeding and crushing those who had the luxury to hesitate.

Blake's arms moved on their own according to instinct, honing in for the kill.

A flurry of slashes carried outwards as waves of compressed air took the form of a red hot cresent wave.

Deadly crimson slashes tore the limbs of most, and some having unfortunate to get close enough to be minced into ribbons, with the last sounds they hear being swift swishing of Blake's fluid arms.

The timer beeped once.

Without hesitation, Blake used the last of her strength to slam both hilts to the ground, forming a large cross that travelled further then it's predecessors.

"Blake!" Ruby yelled as the cat faunus awkwardly fell on her rear. All her strength seemed to leave her arms, making them feel as heavy as lead while her legs felt like jelly. Ruby had to slap the rods out of her arms to jolt her nerves awake as they emitted smoke and smelled of burnt flesh.

"Argh..." Blake hissed as she stared at her blistered palms, the pain throbbing shooting up her arm when she tried to close them.

"Louis said not to use his Overdrive unless you have your aura!" Ruby shouted as she rushed over to the cat faunus's side. "It's the only thing coating you from burning yourself! What were you thinking?!"

"Trying to make an opening for you to get away." Blake grit her teeth as amber eyes locked onto silver. "Looks like you didn't take it though."

"W-what?!"

"We don't have a choice Ruby..." Blake scoffed off, frustrated, as she closed her eyes to concentrate on what little time they had left, not that it made any difference soon with the creatures of darkness closing in around them, immediately replacing the genocide she just commited. "Either I die here, or we all die."

"If you think I'm gonna run away and leave you to die alone, then you're as stupid as Louis!"

Blake could only stare at her leader as she spun to face the Grimm and swung Cresent Rose wildly in a futile attempt to prevent them from getting too close to her friends.

"Maybe I am." Blake smiled as her expression softened into a relieved grin.

So this is what it's like to have friends...

Friends to fight with you.

Friends that actually care.

"I guess this is it then..." Blake sighed quietly as the black tide continued to pour in, crowding around them into a tight circle as they stretched endlessly as far as the eye can see.

She just prayed that her team's unconscious members wouldn't suddenly wake up during in their untimely onslaught.

Besides...

This was what they trained to be... right?

Huntresses, warriors to protect humanity against the forces of the Grimm.

_This was how they were gonna go out eventually._ Blake thought as the growls and snarls grew louder, causing her to scrunch her eyes shut and hope that her death would be swift.

_Kevin's POV_

"What are we doing back here?!" Jaune demanded as they landed back on solid ground, while his girlfriend held out both hands to keep the radial dish of pure metal they had used to fly all the way here, land stably. "Care to explain to us what the plan is?" He asked as he looked towards Kevin.

"Just follow me." Kevin let out an unamused snort as he strolled up towards the stairs leading to the spectator's seats.

"Did you know I could do that?" Pyrrha asked instead in an attempt to distract her boyfriend. "To hover and fly as long as I have metal on me?" She stared at her hands as she clenched and uncurled her fingers. "We might have needed Miss Goodwitch's help this time because I'm in a weak state, and my aura is barely regenerating, but that means I could've lifted myself off the ground on my own accord with the bronze armor I wear."

"No..." Jaune grumbled under a muttered breath. "He's smarter then me, I get it."

"No need to get jealous." The red haired champion apologized profusely with a small smile as they brisk walked to catch up. "I'm just... really impressed that he can think of these things."

"He isn't the only one." Glynda cut in before Jaune could reply. "If Mr Louis is indeed alive as Mr Evans and Mr Kevin pointed out, then they knew this attack was coming."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha winced.

"Is there something you would like to tell me Mr Arc and Miss Nikos?" Glynda questioned with both her arms crossed and a suspiciously raised brow.

"Nothing M-Miss Goodwitch." Jaune put on his best laugh awkwardly as he scratched his hair.

"Y-yes, nothing at all." Pyrrha agreed with a stammer.

"That doesn't sound like nothing." Glynda said as her brow was raised even higher.

Jaune and Pyrrha just looked at each other.

"Hey!"

The trio looked over to the open corridor, where the rotund man had run out of patience and snapped.

"You guys just gonna stand there or what?" Kevin yelled as he signaled his hand to come over. "We have a dragon to kill."

"I expect an explanation after this." Glynda said, pulling her spectacles as they glinted in the evening moonlight, before she smacked her crop and caused the two to jump.

"Y-yes ma'am." Both students replied in perfect synchronization as they hung their heads.

_Blake's POV_

It but subtle, a soft rasp of steel being unsheathed.

Had Blake not been a faunus with enhanced hearing, she doubted her normal pair of ears would've picked it up.

Multiple Grimm near Yang's body fell to the ground with multiple thuds as they screeched and howled in agonizing pain.

"Who...?" Blake managed to as as she looked back to a figure clad in red armor, with messy hair similar to Yang's, a crimson katana similar to Adam's and a confident stature that screams power.

"Weak." She scoffed.

_A woman's voice..._

It was but a word, said in a hush whisper through the animalistic noises that erupted around them, but Blake's sensitive ears picked it up loud and clear.

Crimson eyes peeked through a mask that resembled a Grimm as they locked onto her own, causing the hair at the back of Blake's neck to stand, before averting them towards the blonde below her.

"Blake! You okay?" Ruby yelled without turning around. "Why are all the Grimm agitated all of a sudden?!"

_She'd been so stealthy, so inhumanely quiet, that Ruby hadn't noticed her presence despite being directly behind her._

"I-I'm okay..." Blake swallowed. "You don't have to worry about m-"

"WEISS!"

The low hum in the distance grew louder and soon, became a deafening roar, as a streak of white plowing through the black mass out of nowhere, piercing through the melee with relative ease, and taking out multiple Grimm nearby Ruby along with it.

"That's..." Ruby panted as she wobbled on her knees, shaking and trembling as all her fatigue seemed to pile up and crash into her all at once. "Weiss's... Weiss's..."

"Atlesian Specialist Schnee." The elegant figure clad in a white militaristic cloak introduced herself. "But you can all call me Winter, sister to Weiss Schnee."

"You're... Weiss's friend." She mused as she stared the red reaper up and down despite holding against an Ursa Major at the end of her saber. "The one I met first."

"Y-yeah..." Ruby grumbled as she tried to bow down properly despite standing in the epicenter of a warzone.

"You have... my gratitude." Winter bowed. "For taking care of my sister in my absence."

"Y-your honor is in my... court." Ruby manage to say as she bent her knees to bow, only to teeter and fall down on her rear.

"Rest up." Winter commanded. "On behalf of the Schnee family name, I'd say you've deserved it. You both do." She said as her eyes turned to Blake.

"I thought you Schnee's don't like us faunus kind." Blake grumbled.

"Blake!"

"No, it's fine, understandable even." Winter replied as she slashed a head clean off an Ursa, spinning her weapon gracefully in the air before jabbing it to the ground to summon up a flurry of small avian creatures that had the Grimm around them utterly bamboozled.

"Weiss wasn't always like that." Winter looked sadly into her sister's unconscious body. "And I never was. Since father felt like I'm a lost cause, he forced his will onto Weiss, since she was next in line. That of course, included his hatred for faunus kind."

"My apologies." Blake sighed as her shoulders relaxed. "Beacon being swarmed by Grimm hasn't really done much for my temper."

"Again, understandable." Winter smiled softly. "My gratitude extends to you as well, Blake Belladona."

Blake just looked at Weiss's sister confused.

"Ah, Weiss sends letters. She mentions the friends she's made in them. That, of course, includes-" A quick leap upwards and a horizontally placed slash took off a Beowolf's torso. "Her team." She finished without breaking a sweat.

"How did you find us anyway?" Ruby asked out of curiousity. "I mean... there was no way you could have found us in any of this." She gestured around her, before flinching and crawling to Blake as she finally noticed that they were not alone. "Who is that?!"

The masked woman didn't reply, and instead bashed the butt of her weapon to cave a Boarbatusk's skull in with a sickening squelch.

A quick flick of her wrist rid her fist of any blood, before she hacked and slashed more, slowly pushing the Grimm back.

"Her face isn't one I've seen before, but she seems keen on helping us." Winter admitted as she faced the Grimm.

Blake was sure she heard a 'for now' afterwards, which wasn't at all reassuring.

"As to how I found you out," Winter continued as she bashed another Ursa with her hilt. "You put on quite the lightshow with that." She pointed towards the ground, where 2 stagnant rods lay on the ground, hissing with it's tip still glowing orange from overheating. "Usually I wouldn't be pleased, but for once, I'll make an exception. It acted as a beacon of sorts."

Both Ruby and Blake groaned as they put their faces in their palms.

"... Did I say something wrong?" Winter asked with a raised brow.

"No." Blake groaned into her palm.

"You can thank my sister for that." Ruby pointed towards the unconscious blonde.

"Duly noted." Winter said with a smallest hint of amusement, and began pushing back.

_Kevin's POV_

"Now, if I were Aiden Pearce, where would I be...?"

"Where are we going?" Jaune asked as Kevin continued to stare at his scroll and navigate the small party seemingly aimlessly throughout the stadium. "We've been walking around in circles for 10 minutes straight."

"He was searching for me."

The group turned around right on time to see the purple cloaked figure slam into a wall.

"Ow." He said in an overly forced monotone.

"Miss Goodwitch, was it?" Kevin sighed as he pinched his nose ridge in sheer annoyance. "Put him down, he's on our side."

"He is?" Glynda raised a brow but didn't persist to question it.

Her crop dropped to her side as the purple hooded figure clutched his throat.

"I told you before and I'll tell you again, you don't find the D, the D finds you."

"That's both stupidly inappropriate and equally as nonsensical." Kevin grimmaced. "Where are the others Edgy D?"

"Already at the control panel." Derrick said as he unveiled the hood and dusted himself off. "You're late."

"Traffic." Kevin snarked. "What's the situation?"

"Bad."

**ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

"Did I say bad? Worse now."

"Well, it looks like Big Bertha's awake." Kevin said as the others leapt or flinched.

"How are you so calm?" Jaune asked.

"Louis's Overdrive manage to draw the attention of every Grimm in a large ass radius." Derrick explained, ignoring Jaune's question which resulted in a frown. "The amount he killed back at Mount Glenn were measly compared to what he attracted back to Vale."

"Just like a tsunami." Kevin grumbled under his breath. "Penny and her dad?"

"Inbound to pick up the package."

"Alright," Kevin sighed, seemingly in relief, which earned a raised brow from the others. "You got the message?"

"Yeah, you sure you didn't misheard Evans?"

"Nope." Kevin confirmed. "I don't like it either, but I don't think we have any other options. It's the only logical solution. You got any better ideas that would actually work then spill it."

_Shift_

"Tch..." Winter snarled as she blocked a gargantuan Goliath's trunk that slammed into her mid section, sending her skidding back to a halt as her heels dug into gravel.

"Where's Qrow when you need him?" She asked as she jabbed at its massive girth.

"Care to repeat that Ice Queen?"

2 halves of a Gryphon fell to either one of Winter's sides, and would've coated her in blood had she not moved out of the way with elegant ease.

"Really Qrow?" Winter deadpanned.

Qrow then hacked and slashed as layers upon layers of the Goliath's mass was rapidly trimmed off, until soon it was just it's limbless body squirming in the mud.

"I can't hear yooou~"

"Don't push your luck." Winter snapped as Qrow leapt over her head, using her as a stepping stone as he landed beside the red reaper. "QROW!"

"You okay squirt?" Qrow asked instead, ignoring the exasperated glare Winter is giving him. "I remembered you having a bit more red in you."

"I-I'm fine Uncle Qrow..." Ruby said as shrunk back. "Completely exhausted... but fine. How about you?"

"I'm doing alright I guess, when I see that stupid guy in black armor again I'm gonna give him a piece of my-!"

"That armor is my teammate." Ruby explained meekly.

"-my thanks...?"

"Your... thanks?" Blake questioned with a raised brow as Qrow shook himself out of the trance. "Are you sure you're okay? You were sent flying via backhand."

"Then he will..." Qrow then looked to his niece's attempt to look fierce with her arms on her tiny hips, but it resulted in an adorable pout. "Be forgiven." Qrow decided as he forced himself to tear away from Ruby's gaze, before his face turned dead serious as he stared at the maiden. "What happened to Amber?"

"We're not sure ourselves," Blake explained, ducking as a part of a Beowolf flew over her head. "But she wasn't herself. Literally." Blake said when Qrow raised a suspicious brow.

"Well then, we should get out of her-" Qrow's eyes then narrowed dangerously as his eyes honed in on a familiar figure, his cocky smirk was replaced by an ugly frown. "Glad of us for you dropping in at the right time," He growled. "Sis."

"Qrow." The crimson armored woman greeted simply, the first words audible to everybody ever since she arrived. "Looks like both my daughter and your small prodigy has failed." Her voice was stern and emotionless. "As expected."

"Gruff as ever." Qrow spat as his glare hardened, before backhanding an Alpha Beowolf in the face, causing it to reel back and grab it's about as it whimpered in pain. "What are you doing here?"

"The same reason you are." She replied.

_Jaune's POV_

"Adrian." Kevin greeted as they reached the doors.

"Kevin." The tall man in a navy blue hoodie greeted back without glancing back as he tampered with the system's controls.

"So this is what the announcer's stands look like from the inside..." Pyrrha observed the multiple panels filled with rows of buttons with awe.

"So why do you need us again?" Jaune asked. "Looks like you're doing just fine on your own. No offense." Jaune added as Kevin shot him a glare. "I'm all for working together to stop the Grimm, but I'd rather be down there assist... assisting..." He faltered as he stared at one of the cameras feeds on the multitude of screens amongst them, specifically the one honed in on a mass of black, with only a small radius of a clearing where it seemed 3 fighters were holding off against a massive horde.

"Oh no..." Pyrhha gasped as she put both hands to her mouth. "We have to help them!"

"The reason we need you up here vomit boy." Kevin said. "Is because they tried everything, pushing every button, and nothing seems to be working."

"Maybe if you told us what youre looking for then we could actually help!" Jaune snapped.

"What are you trying to do, exactly?" Pyrrha asked.

"We're gonna drop a bomb on that thing." Kevin pointed at another monitor showing the Dragon Grimm seemingly trying to get rid of a bad itch off it's back, writhing spasmodically and spewing fire from it's mouth, like a dog with a bad rash. "To hopefully kill it, along with the horde."

Jaune balked, even Glynda felt silly for having come along.

"N-no offense, uh, Kevin." Pyrrha tried as she nervously glanced at her boyfriend, who was on the verge of exploding. "But-"

"Where are we gonna find a bomb big enough?!" Jaune yelled.

"You're standing on it."

...

...

"You can't be serious." Jaune laughed bitterly while both Pyrhha's and Glynda's jaws dropped to the floor. "You want to drop the Amity Arena in on them?!"

"It's an arena filled with... what was it, Dust, if I'm not mistaken." Kevin explained slowly as if talking to a toddler. "Since Dust is basically your definition of 'fuel', it's basically a flying nuke waiting to drop."

"You're gonna destroy Beacon!"

"The Grimm can't destroy Beacon if there is no Beacon to destroy." Kevin shrugged nonchalantly.

Both Pyrrha and Glynda just stated at each other, exchanging glances between the uncaring chubby man and the fuming blonde knight.

"Mr Arc..." Glynda said as she grabbed Jaune's shoulder. "Beacon is all but doomed anyway if the Grimm take ov-"

"Damnit!" Adrian yelled, waving his hands up in the air in unadulterated frustration. "I can't find the buttons that control gravity!"

"That's because there isn't one."

Everybody's gazes snapped to Glynda, where the teacher was rubbing her nose ridge.

"What do you mean there isn't one?" Kevin asked as he raised his brow.

"The Amity Arena was built with the safety of the people in mind." Glynda explained with an annoyed sigh. "It was a collaboration of all 4 kingdoms. Vale, Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo. Each and every leader agreed that if the Amity Arena were to suddenly fall out of the sky it would be disastrous, catastrophic even. It'll lead to another Great War between kingdoms as they start to point fingers."

"Makes sense." Derrick nodded.

"So..."

"The only way that the Arena is going down is if somebody flew a Bullhead into the exhausts below, or a Giant Nevermore getting caught in one of the dust turbines."

"And we're all out of ships." Kevin assumed, which Glynda gave a slight nod to.

"Great! Now what?"

"Well, this was expected." Kevin chuckled darkly as he rubbed his palms together. "You asked why I brought all of you along. Time to excecute Plan B."

Both Adrian and Derrick winced.

"Plan B?" Jaune questioned. "What's Plan B?"

Jaune had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"We drop it... manually."

"And... how do you suppose we do that?"

"The majority of the Arena is made of metal isn't it? And we have someone who could manipulate gravity."

He was right.

"Is it too late to go down there and get gobbled up by Grimm?"

"What's the matter?" Kevin asked as Glynda started to close her eyes in concentration. "Afraid of heights?"

"No," Jaune spat with a defeated smile on his face. "Afraid of you."

_Shift_

"Bullshit." Qrow spat as his scythe reverted back into a sword to cleave a Boarbatusk in two. "I came here to save them. You would've cared enough for the tribe to relocate along with them, Raven." He accused with a pointed finger. "You came here for something else, didn't you?"

"Sharp as ever." She shrugged. "Very well then. A certain man has caught my interest." She said as she easily decapitated a row of Grimm, swatted away like pests. "He saved Yang on the train by trying to negotiate with the enemy and I'm here to see if he would do the same again, but it looks like he's nowhere to be seen."

"Oh?" The edge of Qrow's lips quirked up into a snigger. "Trying to find a suitable sperm donor to make your grandchild?"

Blake's cheeks darkened while Ruby craned her neck. Even Winter balked as the birds around her shimmered and dissipated.

"If Yang so chooses to join the Brawnwen Tribe in due time, then the answer to that is yes." She admitted without even flinching once. "Strong genes get passed down, after all."

"And if she refuses?" Qrow asked.

"Then Yang can expect a sibling soon enough."

"Louis can't-! Won-! I mean..." Blake reeled back and shrunk with flushed cheeks as everybody's eyes averted to hers. "Nevermind..."

"Do I have to remind you that we're in the middle of a Grimm incursion?!" Winter yelled, though her face was red and fuming, and not from fighting alone.

"Is that his name?" Raven trudged on. "Then I shall be sure to remember it-"

"**YIPPIE KI YAY MOTHERFUCKER!**"

"What... was that?"

The voice boomed out of the sky, like an announcement made from very large speakers.

"Is... is it just me...?" Winter asked as she looked towards the direction the vulgar announcement made it's presence. "Or is the Amity arena falling out of the sky?"

"Nah Ice Queen, I'm sure it's just your immagina- " His eyes squinted as he glanced to take a closer look. "Actually... On second thought, yeah, it actually is falling out of the sky."

**A/N**

**Finally wrapping things up with a bang... Litterally. **

**Yang : "I like to wrap things up with a Ya-"**

**"CAN IT!"**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Pazxxer (Chapter 44) : Thank you!**

**Sacke110 (Chapter 44): thanks for standing by my opinion. I hope it isn't too harsh on them, but I'm just stating facts. Glad you like the batman references though, and no, I've never watched bleach so its not a nod off to that.**


	46. Chapter 46

_Mercury's POV_

"Why do we have to do this again?" Mercury grumbled under his breath as he halfheartedly dragged the scorpion faunus's body across the grassy plains, occasionally managing to drop him once or twice on the ground to hiss in disgust and swallow back the bile that made it's way up to his throat at the unsightly display of not at his detached tail, which was brutally ripped out of his back, but the fact that his own acidic ichor had leaked and corroded part of his own pants off to reveal a skinny, unflattering behind.

"Don't act like I didn't inform you both beforehand that we should, and could have, disposed of at least one of them." Arthur sighed with not much regret and more exasperation in his tone.

Without even looking back once as he marveled at the object he held in his hand. "But no, you two refused to get rid of dead weight."

"She's not dead weight!" Emerald snapped and had to staggered to stabilize herself almost immediately, wobbling unstably to the side as she struggled to stand with Cinder riding her piggyback style, who finally seemed to have passed out from the intense pain. "And where would the maiden's powers go to if she dies here and now?!"

"As I've explained before, Emerald dearest." The tall man slurred sarcastically. "You should've been able to deliver the mercy kill when she was in tortured pain." Emerald balked and looked away. "But alas." He spun his wrist around in the air as he closed his eyes. "You would rather she suffer from blood loss and unbearable pain from her tongue, then knock herself unconscious.

"Without her you'd be dead!" Emerald snarled.

"Without _her_, _we_ would've succeeded." The Atlesian scientist sneered back.

"If the maidens powers weren't so gender biased, I would've taken things into my own hands." He went on as he shot a dirty look at the person in question, who seemed to finally been given a moment of peace. "At least that way we'd not come back to her grace so empty handed."

"You think you could've faced that... _thing_ with only half the maiden's powers?" Mercury questioned with a brow raised, and a more sarcastic, if not, mocking, smirk. "Even with the 3 others, along with the leader of the White Fang, you still weren't able to defeat it."

"It was my genius that was able to wound it." Arthur gestured to himself with one hand, earning an eye roll and a snort from Emerald. "So yes, I do believe I could end it if I have even the slightest bit of assistance from the Maiden's powers."

"Ugh." Emerald spat as she frowned at the thick mustached man, who chuckled back with a victorious shrug.

"Ego aside, why do you get the easy part again?" Mercury deadpanned as he stared at the tall man who was twisting a sheathed crimson blade in one hand.

"Perhaps you forgot your place." Arthur leered as he put a hand to his chin. "If memory serves me right, was it not her who recruited you," Arthur pointed at Cinder. "Not the other way around?"

Mercury echoed Emerald and rolled his eyes.

"And since I have proven myself superior to her, should you not be thankful to even be under my guidance, despite your lackluster mistress knocking herself out, unable to keep an eye on her lackeys?"

"Whatever." Mercury spat to his side, and began dragging Tyrian's body again, while Emerald gave Arthur the bird.

"Once a low class stray always a low class stray." Arthur remarked as he carried on.

"Em." Mercury said, effectively stopping Emerald in her tracks right as her pupils dilated. "He's not worth it."

"Tch..." The green haired girl hissed.

As Mercury continued to drag the body across the grassy plains of the Emerald forest, with nothing else worth thinking about except the wrath pale skinned woman they were going to face, he had to wonder how their new member was doing.

Because he was going to have more than just a lot of questions thrown at him when they finally meet.

_Shift_

"Meh, I'm sure it's just the booze working it's way up." Qrow waved off with a lazy snort as he jabbed Harbinger's large length of a blade into a charging Goliath's foot, that of which roared loudly as it stumbled backwards, tilting over to the side and crashed with a thundering boom.

It thrashed about in the mud, a last attempt to disarm it's assailant for the sake of the rest of it's kin to have a chance, before Qrow plunged his blade at one of it's tusk as it was downed.

It broke off with an agonizingly sickening crack, his strength being that of a Pro Hunstman clearly outweighing it by a far cry, and momentum he was swinging at allowing him to pierce through half it's cranium with ease.

It's as close as a mercy kill as Qrow was gonna get.

"If I'm able to see the same thing you did, not to mention being able to spot it first and clearly being the only one here who's logical enough to point it out," Winter smirked as she elegantly plowed through an entire row of Beowolves, having 2 or 3 at a time at the end of her blade before she discarded them to the side, accurately placed blows piercing the ribcage and puncturing the heart each time without fail. "Then I can assure you that it's not the effects of alcohol."

"Ironwood's little bitch is correct, little brother." Raven snorted while she gave a backhand fist to a barreling Ursa, who roared back in pain, staggering backwards as it grabbed it's snout with both paws while somehow maintaining balance with it's stubby legs. Her remark gained a piercing scowl from the person she so clearly insulted, and a muffled snigger from her brother.

"Well then, if that's the case, then I guess it's our queue to leave." Qrow said as he landed lightly on his feet after taking the limbs off an Alpha Beowolf. "Get us out of here Raven."

...

...

"Raven?"

Qrow's eyes widened into dinner plates as he instinctively spun around almost immediately. A myriad of expressions rapidly made it's way onto his face, starting from surprise, transitioning to dissapointment and eventually ending in outrage.

He ground his teeth as he managed to catch a glimpse of the end of what appears to be, the trailing wisps of a swirling red and black vortex closing in on itself with a low hum, with no Raven in sight.

...

...

...

"SON OF A-!"

"And I thought my family was bureaucratic." Winter deadpanned as Qrow continued to stomp around and curse in unflattering words, a majority of which are gibberish and some of which she was grateful to have no vulgar knowledge of.

A major part of it however, she understood full and well. A quick glance to her sister's partner tilting her head to the side with a raised brow indicated that she doesn't know most of the words either, only flinching every now and then at the cusses.

...

...

"You done?" Winter asked with a raised brow.

"Hold on." Qrow hissed through his grit teeth as he took it out on an unfortunate Ursa Major, wrapping the hilt of his blade onto it's furry neck.

"Are you both really that meaningless to her?" She asked as she stared at the unconscious blonde brawler lying flat on her back with almost a pitiful look in her eye, before she hopped off the shoulders off of a lumbering Ursa Major, who fell on it's back with a loud thud as blood leaked through both the hole in it's cracked skull, and the other, a more... gruesome wound as fresh, red fluid exploded out of it's chest, seemingly impaled by it's own large spikes from it's own back, effectively eviscerating it. It's hind legs kicked even though the mammal was brain dead, before the red glow in it's eyes died completely.

"Raven only sees those with strength worth her time." Qrow spat out the answer as the Ursa's neck cracked. "So if we survive this, she might actually listen to what we have to say." Qrow slashed outwards vertically to ward off any Grimm from getting any closer.

"You Qrow." Winter said. "You, not we." She added when Qrow raised a curious brow. "I have no business with her, thus have no purpose or interest in seeking her out."

"Oh, did you know that she stole half a tonne of Schnee Dust right under the noses of uhh, what was it?" Qrow rotated his wrist in the air as he thought for the correct word. "Atlas military property?"

"That was her?!" Winter shrieked instantly, the sudden chance in attitude causing Ruby and Blake to wince. Her heels dug into the ground as she stomped around in a small circle, her lips peeling back into a snarl.

Blake couldn't help but look away in an attempt to either hide her embarrassment or to conceal her flinch.

Maybe both.

"If we make it out of this alive, you're taking me to her!" Winter demanded as she grabbed Qrow by his collar, who jabbed Harbinger at her direction, but she didn't falter.

It slid a mere finger away from her forearm, and embedded itself in something with a wet snap.

"_If_ we make it through this alive, _you're_ buying me a drink for saving your ass." Qrow sniggered as the Beowolf behind her dissapated. "Or, in this case, your sister's." he nodded towards Weiss.

A loud bang of shotgun round being fired nearly costed the Atlesian specialist her hearing, but what Qrow said caused her to hold her ground, staggering backwards and shake her head as her eyes roved to seek Weiss, only to sigh in relief as a dead Boarbatusk fell to the side.

"Thanks." Winter scowled, partly sarcastic, mostly grateful at the sight of Qrow's smoking barrel as she rubbed the side of her head to ease the pain in her ears.

"No problem." Qrow smirked as the gargantuan blade clicked and whirred into it's greatsword form. "We should find a way out of here though, I might be able to hold em off if I were on my own and escape later, but we have a hostage situation with Ruby and her team. Not ideal if I want to go all out."

"Fair enough." Winter agreed as she look to the black tide that was slowly closing in and pushing them back.

Before Qrow managed to conjure up an escape plan, a loud screech immediately followed by a shrill squawk cut through his thoughts and gained the group's attention.

"Just my luck." Qrow groaned as he sent a diagonal sweep that took the torsos off of his foes unfortunate enough to get too close. Not that it mattered with the amount that continued to pour in replacing their fallen kin.

Both Blake and Ruby dared to stare up to see the first ever Grimm they had faced together as a team.

A Giant Nevermore flapped it's wings wildly, prepping to rain down it's large feathers on the small group to pin them down.

"So much for an escape route." Winter sighed in an exasperated tone as she pinched her nose ridge. She noticed her mistake almost immediately and leapt backwards.

A claw from a mammalian Grimm, either a Beowolf or an Ursa, swiped low at her legs.

She landed as light as a feather, but a startled gasp caused her to glance behind her shoulder.

Ruby had both hands to her mouth, while Blake looked away.

"Winter." Qrow said in a grave tone as he turned back to face the horde and tightened his grip on Harbinger, extending it into it's scythe form for longer range. "Your leg."

"Hm what are yo-?"

She felt something warm ran down her right thigh.

Her eyes widened.

She was fighting so much that she hadn't noticed it, such a minor gash.

But a gash nonetheless, which meant she just ran out of aura.

No aura means no Semblance. And nothing to protect her from harm.

"Uncle Qrow..." Ruby croaked weakly, hands clammy and staring worriedly towards the back of her uncle as she made to stand up, only to teeter down. "W-will we be okay?"

Qrow didn't answer.

"Tch..." Winter snarled and attempted to push back, but it was easier said then done with there now being 2 people instead of the 3 they had not too long ago.

It was but just a person, but it made a jarring difference, especially since that person was strong enough to hold off the Grimm on their backs with ease. With that person now gone, and her out of Aura, only Qrow was good enough to fight, and even then he couldn't go all out.

She had just become another burden for him to take care of.

The Giant Nevermore nosedived with a bloodthirsty squawk.

"Friend Ruby!"

_Kevin's POV_

"We should get off, now!" Kevin yelled as they rushed through the corridors as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Are you certain this would guarantee the death of that... thing." Glynda flinched when she heard it roar out in pain, but continued running. "With the momentum it's going at?" She asked through ragged pants, completely drained from the intense focus she had to concentrate to use her semblance on such a massive scale.

"What are you trying to do? Wipe out the dinosaurs?" Kevin snarked. "Right, Remnant." The rotund man sighed when Glynda made to raise her brow.

"Any more speed than that, and you'll take out Vale." Kevin snorted. "I'm trying my best to keep the damage to a minimum, but even then we couldn't calculate the complete fallout accurately. We just need the dragon to go down and the rest should foll-"

Just as they were about to make it into the open a startled cry resounded from behind them, followed by a loud thunk and a soft plop.

Glynda rubbed her wrist, before wincing as she reached for her heel. Her ankle turned red through her black stockings, and it seemed to be jutting a bit more then it should have while her heel snapped clean off.

"You okay teach?" Kevin asked as he skidded to a halt, slowly crouching down to take a look at the blonde teacher.

"I-I'm fine..." She made an attempt to stand up, but ended up falling on her rear. "I..."

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other with uncertainty in their eyes, while Adrian stared off into the distance, wondering if the sky is falling.

It's not that they didn't want to help their lecturer, especially after everything she'd done. It's more that they're afraid if they'd caused the already bad sprain to be worse. And with the fragile conditions they were both in? That's more than likely to happen.

"Kevin, was it?" Glynda asked with a sigh. "Take Mr Arc and Miss Nikos with you and get out of here. Leave me here."

"M-Miss Goodwitch!" Pyrrha balked. "With all due respect, you can't be serious!"

"I am Miss Nikos." Glynda gestured to her heel. "Unfortunately, I'm just going to be a burden at this rate. The time has come for me to make my stand as a huntress."

"Don't you mean make your sit as a huntress?" Adrian added, gaining a cold glare from the lecturer.

Her face softened and she smiled at Pyrrha. "I... apologize for having such a burden pushed onto your shoulders Miss Nikos. Had there been another way out, I would've chosen the alternative. Maybe there was." She chuckled softly as she looked at Kevin as she closed her eyes. "And we're just too blind to see it."

"Miss Good-"

"That's enough Mr Arc." Glynda apologized. "Go. I taught you both all you need to know. Tell the world what you've seen here today, and warn them of what's to come."

Jaune grit his teeth with glassy eyes while Pyrrha bit her lower lip.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?!" Derrick's voice emanated from the open and carried off into the tunnels, effectively cutting the conversation off. "Hurry it up will ya? I'm too young to die!"

"As much as I hate to admit him being right," Kevin sighed and shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't think any of us want to waste our lives here, come on." Kevin said as he hefted the blonde woman by her shoulder. "I gotcha."

"No, wait!" Glynda's eyes widened. "If you take me, then Miss Nikos wouldn't be able to use her semblance." Glynda explained. "She struggled with just the 4 of us, and you have 2 more with you."

"You're not that heavy." Kevin blocked a weak elbow aimed for his gut. "If anything, I should be the one to stay behind."

"Not my point!" Glynda hissed.

"Besides," Kevin continued, even though the teacher was fuming. "I doubt your students would want to see their lecturer dead, and if you want to waste your life then that's fine," Kevin said, supporting the teacher as they limped out into the light. The teacher didn't resist. "But try not to do it here, in front of your students. I mean just look at those eyes." He smirked as he pointed at Jaune, who was rubbing his eyes with the back of his arms. "Is that really the face you want to see on your dying breath?"

"N-no but-"

"Then let's go." Kevin chuckled as he slowly supported the teacher out of the corridors.

"Shhh, it's okay," Kevin snickered as he called out behind his shoulder. "Let it out."

"I'm not crying!"

"Sure you aren't..."

"Something slipped into my eye!" He persisted with a snarl, but refused to show his face.

"Mhmm..."

"Shut up!"

It caused Pyrrha to nudge the side of her boyfriend's arm with her elbow.

"What?" Jaune snapped as he finally let his hands down.

"Oh nothing." The red haired champion rolled her eyes as she let her hand fall to his shoulder. "You know, you actually look cuter with tears in your eyes. Sort of reminds me of a puppy."

"And you look worse for wear with mascara trailing down your fac- Oof!"

An elbow shot into his gut, causing him to reel back and gasp in pain.

"What'd... I... do...?" Jaune asked as he held one hand to the walls of the halls for support.

"Hmph!" Pyrrha huffed and crossed her arms, refusing to meet her boyfriend's eyes.

"Come on Mc Donalds, this isn't a time for a make out session." Kevin beckoned with one arm at the couple, having already making it outside. "Who the hell makes out with someone in the middle of deciding to do something heroic like self sacrifice anyway?"

"I'm sure that's directed towards us." Pyrrha pointed out, heels digging into the dirt as she stormed out with tense shoulders, arms still crossed and an even more cross expression to rendezvous with the others.

"Did I say something wrong...?" Jaune asked himself, before he waved it off. "Nah, probably it's that time of the month again."

"After all this is over," Jaune muttered. "I'm gonna ask every nickname he's been calling us to either Louis or Evans. He owes us at least that much."

_And we owe them our thanks._ His inner consciousness seemed to remind him._ For setting me up, for helping Pyrrha through this maiden fiasco and for saving Beacon._

"Sort of..." Jaune sighed and closed his eyes and imagined Beacon. Their school, their home, being destroyed. "Well, at least this way we wouldn't have to worry about listening to any of Port's narcissistic lectures anymore." He said as he looked behind his shoulders.

...

"I'm gonna miss this place."

...

...

"Okay, everybody get on, this is gonna get bumpy." Kevin gestured towards a metallic plate on the floor of the arena, where it kept skittering and sliding off wildly on the surface of the arena's main battleground at the sudden turbulence. "Pyrhha, if you would."

"Wait wait wait, we're going in _that_?!" Derrick said as he pointed towards the dented metal with rusted edges that had little to no thickness. "It looks like it's on the verge of giving away."

"You have any better ideas?"

"Yeah, why don't we just ask Glynda to levitate us to safety?"

"Sorry to disappoint." Glynda replied haggardly as Kevin set her down. "But I'm limited to just one, if I push, at most 2, people at the level of aura I have right now. Any more and I could drop everybody, myself included."

"Damnit..." Derrick winced. "Then how about we wait for Penny to-"

"They won't make it on time." Kevin sighed. "They're going to pick the others up first remember? We did offer both parties you want to be with, and you chose this one."

"Uh, we could-"

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." Kevin shrugged innocently. "By all means, you could just stay here and-"

"I call shotgun!" Derrick yelled and zipped, pinning the plate into place.

"What?" Kevin sniggered as the others deadpanned at him. "Fear is a good motivator."

_Evans's POV_

_What the hell happened?! I'm supposed to be either back in Amber's body or in my own. Why did I get stuck in Louis's?!_

**ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

"**SHIT!**" Evans shouted in sheer panic, instincts kicking in as he barely ducked right on time, somehow managing to dodge a continuous jet of scorching fire that could have certainly cooked him from within.

He dared to look behind him, and what he saw made him gulp.

The majority of the Emerald Forest was lit ablaze, as billowing dark plumes of smoke rose up to cut off light from the shattered moon in a matter of seconds, enshrouding his already blurring vision and dimming the already muted light, replacing it with a blazing hell of what was soon to be, nothing but ashes.

He gulped again and swallowed his fear in hopes that the blast didn't hit any of the girls in it's path of mass destruction.

_If that'd had hit me... _Evans shivered as he turned to face the dragon and look at it straight in it's eye, or... eyes.

It had 3 on each side, all pointed towards the pest on it's back as it puffed out annoyed snort.

Suddenly the world spun around him as the drawbacks of his semblance kicked in.

His vision was quickly blurring, his eyes seeing double as the dragon seemed to be in 2 places at once, all through blood red vison, and Evans wasn't even sure whether that was because Louis's eyes were bloodshot, or just the natural colors of the visors on the dark armor.

His limbs felt sore, as if overworked from labor and then beaten immensely with a cane, while his legs felt like lead as the muscles in his thighs constricted, cramping his leg muscles all at once. A pain much worse then being in Amber's body seemed to have flooded him, crashing down on his senses all at once, but the armor wouldn't let him fall.

All his muscles worked, but it'd hurt every time he tried to move them, probably due to the multitude of spikes embedded inside his body. All his senses worked, but it'd felt heavily muted, like trying to move, hear, breathe and talk underwater.

_Lou... this is what you have to go through while fighting for us...?_

_..._

_Christ..._

_How are you still alive?_

The overwhelming fatigue washed over him like a tide, tempting for him to let go, but he clung on for the sake of his friend.

_I don't have long. Soon, every pain in his body is gonna register through my nerves, and by then I would be too tired to even more a finger._

_I have to get him out of here, and fast!_

_But..._

_What am I supposed to do?! _

_Wait..._

"**Yo, Lou! You in there somewhere?**"

The only sounds he could hear was the thudding of the dragon trying to steamroll him by rolling around spasmodically, like a dog getting rid of a bad itch.

A minute of trying to claw onto the dragon's thick and slippery scales passed, then two.

_Shit... he isn't awake yet? _

_..._

_But he woke up when that black egg exploded._

He was sure of it.

Speaking of which, where was...

It was a low hum, something that could've been easily missed had he only concentrated on his own breathing, along with the beast's in front of him.

But it was there, among the other ambient noises like the cracking of trees, rustling of twigs and the not so gentle wind growing more violent with each ticking second.

"**Huh...?**" Evans's voice echoed throughout the dark armor as he held on for his dear life.

He manage a glance upwards at the looming shadow that had the smoke from the fire parting.

_No way._

"**Oh hell** **yeah!**" Evans cheered as he saw the towering mass slowly approach, rapidly picking up it's pace as it's bottom started to glow red and a mach cone started to appear.

A moment later, he saw a small radial disc shot out into the distance.

Evans couldn't help when a small smile crept onto his face, along with a small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, they would make it out of this alive after all.

...

_Wait..._

_I told em to aim for the dragon..._

"**And** **right now...** " Evans's eyes slowly scanned down to meet the dragon's once more, who was snorting and puffing air in large, violent jets, completely exhausted from it's attempt on shaking the nuisance off and wondering why it hadn't become nothing but a red mark by now.

...

...

"**I'M STILL ON TOP OF IT!**"

_Kevin's POV_

"I... can't... any... longer-!" Pyrhha grit her teeth through the pain as the dish they were traveling in wobbled.

Despite it being an incoherent sentence, the group got the meaning of it immediately, and even some like Kevin and Adrian instantly ducked to a crouch to have a well placed center of gravity as the plate tilted to one side.

Not all noticed as fast as they did.

A hysterical cry tore through Pyrrha's thoughts, and the immediate jerk in altitude almost caused the lot of them to nosedive into the mass of Grimm awaiting below them.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed out in panic as her boyfriend was sent off the edge of the plate, arms flailing to grab anything he could use as a steady foothold. The rust gave away beneath him as he was sent toppling to his death, was it not for the meaty hand shooting out.

"I got him!" Kevin hissed as Pyrhha gave an apologetic yet panicked stare back at him as the group finally found ground to stand on once more.

Pyrrha resumed her upright posture as she held out both hands and they floated lazily in the air.

"Just concentrate on keeping us afloat!" Kevin shouted as he dragged Jaune back on the plate.

"Sorry..." Pyrrha apologized when she saw what she had almost done.

It barely had any room left, and Jaune just chipped at a huge chunk of it.

"It's okay." Kevin reassured as the blonde boy scrambled to safety. "Just... try not to do that again."

"This is why I don't like carnival rides..." Derrick grumbled to himself as he picked himself up.

"I don't remember paying." Adrian said with a raised brow. "Are we on a roller coaster? Where are the safety bars?"

Glynda made to raise her brow, then decided it was best that she ignored them and supported the red haired champion in levitating the dish with what little aura she had left lest they have another 'accident' happen again.

_She's running on fumes. They both are._ Kevin mused as Jaune nodded his thanks, panting heavily from the thoughts of almost falling to his death.

"I guess you aren't so bad after all." Jaune chuckled defeatedly.

"Save it for until we live through this." Kevin insisted as he dusted himself off. "Get close to your girlfriend and ensure she won't kill us."

Under any normal circumstance, Jaune would've revolted on that remark, but he decided against it, telling himself that the rotund man was trying to make a point, even with his own... tough love sort of way.

He managed a subtle, yet hesitant nod as Kevin dug his pocket to reach for his scroll.

"Who could you be calling at a time like this?" To his surprise it was the blonde teacher who asked the question, and not the knight. "Last words to your family?"

"I would've done that if I'd known I'd be stuck with these idiots for the rest of my second life." Kevin gestured at the two, who had decided the best spot was at the center and the best position would be to sit down.

"Second... life?" Glynda said slowly as she tried to digest the knowledge.

"Long story. Reincarnation is a thing, and it doesn't have to be delivered by a speeding truck."

"Oobleck might be interested in having an interview with you." Glynda said with a bemused expression. "Care to entertain the idea?"

"When we make it out of this alive, I'll consider it."

The call connected.

"Yeah, we're ready, where are you?"

"..."

"Hey I know you can't speak much, or... at all for that matter, but at least give me a sign as to where you guys are."

"..."

"Look," Kevin sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm gonna be honest with you, we won't last much longer out here. Champ's running low and so is Buffy the Grimmslayer here. We need immediate extraction so if you could be so kind as to-"

"Is that friend Evans?" A familiar voice from a certain ginger haired girl asked. "Or is it friend Kevin?"

Kevin heard something tapping twice.

"Oh, tell him that we're having a bit of a 'situation' here." Kevin could imagine the innocent girl trying her best to do air quotations. "And it's going to be a little bit longer before we can pick him up."

"What kind of a situation?" Kevin asked with a raised brow.

A vicious series of loud squawking noises cut through their thoughts, prompting the group to look at the direction of the bestial cries.

Their eyes scanned the skies until they spotted a Giant Nevermore wildly flapping it's wings to get untangled from an invisible force, while an average sized Atlesian ship resides beside it, easily twice the size of a bullhead, hatch open.

Kevin was sure he saw a dot of orange holding out her hands while a spot of pink and brown escorting what seemed to be like a white haired girl held on for their dear life as the whole aircraft slowly tilted sideways, threatening to spill it's passengers out.

"Uhh..." The squeamish voice giggled nervously on the other side of the microphone. "Bird Flu?"

_Evans's POV_

The dragon opened it's huge maws to give a bloodthirsty roar, not even turning it's head once despite the low hum getting louder and louder, signaling it's impending demise.

[Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Big Blast Sonic]

"**Fuck it,**" Evans decided as he scooted over, extruding the armor's claws out to at least providing some form of grip as he hugged it's massive girth and moved.

Slowly but surely, he crawled further and further away too avoid it's gaping jaw that was chomping down near misses amongst the entire gargantuan length of it's body, but reluctant to sacrifice part of it's body just to get rid of a minute pest.

"**Lou ain't dying here, not today!**"

Curling his fingers into a sharpened claw, Evans shouted in rage as he jabbed sharp metal at it's tail.

It cracked a small amount where the nails had hit, but like bulletproof glass, nothing happened.

The dragon's tail flailed and swished wildly, bucking and twisting in a way that had Evans more nauseous then ever as the world spun around him.

It made him sick to the stomach, causing bile to quickly rise up to his throat, but with the amount of spikes he had in him, he was sure it wasn't just bile. If he'd throw up now, he was sure Louis would expel an entire gallon of blood.

"**Come on damnit!**" Evans cursed as his left arm failed him, causing him to yelp as he lost his grip for a split second, before hugging the tip of it's tail once more.

"**Bastard! Stop trying to shake me off, I'm trying my best to get away from you!**" Evans shouted as his voice reverberated and echoed through the armor. "**I know you Grimm were supposed to be mindless and stupid but damn.**"

The dragon's response was to writhe around in another attempt to steamroll him into a flat metal pancake.

It caused Evans to howl angrily as he managed to gain some form of control of the armor, managing to open it's metal maws. Steel teeth managed to embed itself in it's tail, providing a solid vice grip that had no intention of letting go.

"**You have people expecting you, LOU!**" He screamed angrily as his body hit the ground, and immediately, in that instant, was unable to feel his feet, or the lower parts of his body for that matter.

"**Don't keep them waiting!**" Evans screamed.

With a loud battle cry, he slammed his metal claw into the armored tail once more, this time with all the strength he could muster.

The scales made a gruesome crunch as black armored nails pierced through, it's wild flailing and thrashing only making it more effective as it tore, what was, for a human size, an entire car's length threatening to split it's skin in two.

Like a large zipper, it peeled back with a sickening squelch, revealing muscle and what appeared to be, bone.

Blood spurted out and sprayed the armor like an unmanned hose, covering from head to toe in a matter of seconds.

It screeched out in pain, kicking it's hind legs as the tail lashed out in the motion of a bullwhip, making a full rotation before it flung the annoying presence out of sight,

And out of danger.

It was only then, that the creature noticed a larger shadow than itself looming overhead.

When it made to crane it's neck, it expected to meet it's ally, or perhaps an enemy worth it's time. It's expression, even set in stone in it's hard cranium, fell.

What it wasn't expecting, was a huge chunk of rock and metal about the size of itself.

It's bottom flickered blue as cells started to shield and spread like a spider web, not that it mattered.

It roared angrily at the deception and spread out it's wings to take to the skies, but before it could, it felt something slammed into it's already injured tail, pinning it down into place.

It was immediately followed up by it's hind legs getting crushed under the immense pressure, before the length of it's spine crunched and cracked as each and every segment of it's vertebra split and tore through it's ligaments and innards.

It's stomach flooded with blood from torn organs, before spilling onto the grassy plains below. It shrieked and screeched out in pain, trying to kick and squirm it's way out like a snake, only to realize that it couldn't feel most of it's body.

With a pained roar, it roared out angrily, seeking aid.

Kevin's POV

"Beacon... stands?" Jaune questioned once he somehow found the courage to open his eyes with a raised brow. "How?"

"Of course the shield reactivates at the last second!" Kevin yelled angrily as frustration flooded his thoughts, causing the rest of the group to flinch. "Story flow hijinks are interesting to read or watch, but fuck me if I couldn't say it's such a pain in the ass to experience!"

"W-wait, what just happened?" Jaune asked.

"The stupid shields that went down when the Giant Nevermore attacked." Derrick explained. "It went back online just as it was about to hit the ground, softening the impact thus hurting the dragon, but not killing it completely."

"It is weakened though." Adrian pointed out needlessly. "We just need something that could deliver the killing blow.

A pained cry echoed eerily on the night sky, causing the majority of the group to shield their ears from the high pitched screech, but even muffled, it was still loud.

Soon, loud rumbling started to resound from below, an amalgamation of thundering hooves, paws, claws, and a multitude of others can be made out, blending it and sending vibrations that were felt even up in the air.

"W-where are they all going?" Pyrrha asked, peering over the edge of the disc as the Grimm that seemed to have been in complete disarray turned their necks, and swarmed in the direction of the giant Grimm.

"Nowhere." Kevin examined as the ground shaking roar echoed throughout the battlefield. "At least not out of Beacon." He said as his gaze met the other 2 from earth that was with him. "Please don't tell me they're pulling the mega kaiju shit from Pacific Rim Uprising."

Derrick and Adrian looked at the Grimm piling up at the bottom of the dragon, where it's torso was somehow already starting to reform from the black mass that seemed to be sacrificing itself as a form of homage.

"They're pulling the mega kaiju shit from Pacific Rim Uprising." Both Derrick and Adrian answered in sync and deadpanned.

"Oh... Come. ON!"

**A/N**

**Back to our regularly scheduled 2-1-2 week update, yay! Might make an exception for X mas, which is happening a few weeks from now. Damn, half a month after this fic releases already huh? How time flies.**

**Anyway, I'd thought we could wrap up the fall here, but again, me no want to cramp it all into 1 chapter, so it should- SHOULD,wrap up in the next one.**

**As to how, in all honesty, I still have no idea. Until next week! (Hopefully)**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white (Chapter 47): She's such a serious character that I couldn't help but have her break out every once and a while.**

**DankAnon (Chapter 47): Glad to hear you're doing okay! If you're wondering what he wrote out of curiousity, you could always go to the reviews and read it. It shouldn't be too far back, being a week old.**

**Arclight001 (Chapter 47): Whoops.**

**sacke110 (Chapter 47): I mean, Winter is Winter. She wouldn't let Weiss die, that's for sure. Raven is... well Raven.**


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N**

**The finale is getting split into 2 chaps to prevent it from getting too cramped (Which it still is). Might've made a mistake by putting everybody in one place at one time. I swear I'm not trying to delay anything, but it just... happens.**

**Oh well...**

**Imma _try_ to post the 2nd either tomorrow or the day after , keeping my promise to y'all that I will finish the fall this week, since I want to finish the aftermath about before or after X-mas.**

_Evans's __POV_

"**Urrk...**" Evans's groaned, his voice carrying throughout the helmet, if he could even call it that, for in reality it was really more of a sound between a choke and a gurgle, and planted his hands on the ground as he turned his body around, shaking uncontrollably from head to toe, causing him to pluck out a handful of grass from the burning pain from the impact alone.

The armour clanked and rattled as Evans managed to stagger up awkwardly through the numbing soreness in Louis's- his, muscles somehow, swaying sideways like a drunken person would as he tried to find stable footing, but despite his efforts, it was cut short as his legs gave away, buckling while he sagged down to one knee.

Sharp pain shot up from the toes of his feet the moment his knee touched the ground, flaring up and spreading throughout the body like wildfire through a dry forest.

"**Definitely... have to work... on my... landing... strategy...**" He hissed in pain as it scanned for his bearings. "**Is this... the Emerald Forest?**"

But... there were so many Grimm.

It would be impossible for them to just leave... again.

_Not without Louis... me, luring them in._

_Where did they all go?_

A large blast resounded from a good distance away, followed up by a thunderous pained roar that shook the ground beneath his feet.

Evans's shoulders tensed as his first thoughts that entered his mind were to limp away, before he realized that the sound that reverberated the ground was very far away, and knowing that fact somehow brought a wave of calm to wash over his body in his situation. Out of nowhere, a sudden rush of air burst through the trees, almost blew Evans off of his feet.

His reflexes kicked in, resulting in him holding both hands in front of him while he squared his feet to a low crouch, putting his center of gravity somewhere below his crotch.

It was a big mistake.

A sickening crunch made it's way to his ears.

"**FUCK!**" Evans cursed as unbearable pain shot through his knee, where the armor had dissolved all the way through and showed Louis's exposed joint, slowly twisting and cracking into an awkward angle from getting dragged across the ground being him, taking a chunk of the soggy mud and tracing it in an engraved line underneath him while the hurricane blasted his body in somewhat same direction, causing his body to twist sideways while his bad foot anchored it in place.

Despite his best efforts, it was impossible to keep the body angled perfectly in order to counter the blast, especially not with the injury Louis gained.

Resistance was futile. With a final, sharp breath, his knee finally snapped, twisting into an almost 90 degree angle that would even have even the most brutal of the White Fang members flinching.

"**ARGHH!**" He roared aloud as his hands rushed to where his exposed knee is, if only to push down on it to lessen the pain. When Evans's eyes roved down and saw all the spikes jutting into it, it took all of his will not to touch it, trying hard not to look at it, for it only reminded him of what was going to happen next.

The armor detected the damage immediately, shooting spikes into the body where necessary and twisting immediately back into it's proper position with a burst of blood.

"**SHIT!**"

With no hope of ever condemning or mitigating the wave of pain that was now coursing through his body in full, he propped his back against the nearest tree and hugged it, clawing into it profusely with grit teeth while pushing his torso up on the length of the trunk for support, only to crash to the ground on his side, where the literal thorn on his sides jutted just a little deeper into flesh and bone.

"**GAAAGH! Fucking piece of-!**" Evans couldn't find himself to finish that sentence as his voice died in his throat, suddenly turning into a gurgle.

"**Blaaaaagh!**" The mouthpiece flooded, the scarlet substance telling Evans that it didn't just consist of just bile but fresh, warm blood, spilling through the cracks between it's metal maws like a broken dam. Somehow, some of it remained internally despite the strain and the fighting. Evans could feel more forcing it's way up his throat, but he swallowed to keep it in, forcing it to stay down.

It was a miracle Louis's body was still moving.

"**Urk... pfffbbbt Aggh... blah... hah...**" Evans's hands trembled and shook as he tried to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, only to flinch at the screeching sound of metal against metal, forgetting for a second that he- Louis, was completely armoured.

[Warframe OST The Sacrifice To Take It's Pain Away (1 Hour)]

"**Gods... Ruby was right... you're an idiot...**" Evans said as he managed to sit down, if he could even call it that. In reality, all he really did just fall on his rear, and thank the gods that at least Louis's behind was free of the thorns.

His shoulders sagged, no longer feeling pain.

Or... anything else for that matter.

As if that wasn't enough, fatigue then came crashing down on both his mind and body, causing him to be nauseous once more as his vision swirled and blurred, and before he knew it, he was seeing double again, without much hope of seeing clarity for long.

"**Not... here...**." Evans muttered as his eyelids drew to a close and his metal snout nodded off, but the sound of his snout clanking against his breastplate was enough to wake him up.

"**Not... now...**" It took every last drop of effort to peel his eyelids back and force them to stay open.

The unbearable pain seared into his mind and ate away at his sanity while the gallons of blood leaked out of not only his metal jaws, but through the cracks in between his gauntlets, tassets and every other crack where a wound lays.

He hoped that he could say his muscles were just sore but Evans could no longer feel them, as if everything had shut down from head to toe. He would do anything right now to just close his eyes, and wake up to his own body find this all some fiendish nightmare.

He nodded off again.

Another resounding clank jolted him awake.

Gods he wanted to. The opportunity was too tempting to pass that he had to pry his eyelids open once more.

But he knew.

Knew too well that if he did that now, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night at the thoughts of the fact that he indirectly was responsible for the death of his close friend.

His brother.

If Louis was awake right now he would tell him not to worry. That it wasn't his fault that he was taking away his last breath. That it would be a mercy kill if anything to end it now.

Louis would pat his back telling him that he did a good job, and thanked him for protecting the girls for his sake, and would ask of him to continue to do so in his place.

_And he would probably kill me for trying to save him. Yell at me to get back to my own body and tell me he could take care of himself, that this pain was his to bear, and his alone._

The edge of Evans's lips twisted into a smirk.

With a heavy sigh, he let his hands fall to his sides with a clatter and a heavy plop. He could still move them if his mind demands it, due to the armour more than anything, but as for feeling it?

Evans couldn't feel anything. It's as if his body consists of only his head, and nothing else.

At least he could feel his face, explained by the bad itch currently invading his nose, probably caused by the sudden spray of blood. An itch he couldn't scratch brain dead or not.

"**You know... if I'd knew you'd do this so soon I would've possessed your body and sent love letters to the girls, hiding it under their pillows or something. Bet that would stir up quite a commotion to know you'd write your real feelings to them.**" Evans chuckled, then flinched immediately.

It'd hurt to even laugh, for the thorns embedded between his ribcage rattled within.

"**Do you really wanna die a virgin?**" Evans taunted with a choke as his eyes rolled up to look up into his skull, as if he could somehow find Louis in there somewhere. "**I don't think any of the boys would approve of that, escpecially me. Except Dwiki of course.**" He added as his lips twisted into a smirk. "**That dude always hogs everything to look like the most knowledgeable and powerful person in the room after all.**"

"**You idiot. We hadn't even gotten our beach or onsen episode yet.**" He snorted. "**Bet you wouldn't wanna miss the girls in their bikini's now do you? Not that that would make much of a difference, since you did saw them completely undressed, after all. But there is a certain amount of thrill to seeing them half clothed, curiosity taking over to wonder what's within.**"

_Come on, tell me it's my fault._

_The Semblance abusing cunt._

...

...

...

"**Tch...**"

...

"**I know you're not a person to regret decisions, doing this especially for our sake. Our survival." **Evans found the need to specify, despite the person he's talking to being completely out of the equation.** "But don't do this. I, out of all people, know that y****ou're not a cruel person. Bet you don't want to see any of them or us breaking down in tears over your dead body now do you? We'd never seen Ruby cry over Summer's dead body in the show. And we sure as hell don't want to see that now. Giving her helplessness like that would break her.**"

_Tell me it won't._

_That she's too strong for it._

_That she would push on no matter what, just like how she did at the beginning of Volume 4._

_Say something..._

_Anything..._

...

"**Fuck...**."

...

...

"**Come on guys...**" Evans muttered as he looked up at the only source of light making it's way down through the small spaces between branches. "**What's taking so long?**"

**A/N**

**[End the music here]**

_Kevin's POV_

"HEAVE!" Kevin yelled as Glynda held out her crop and struggled with it, purple energy wrapping around the oversized bird that was trying to break free from it's binds, only to find more enshrouding it's body in the form of a faint pink glow.

The Giant Nevermore squawked angrily as the wires slowly untangled itself while beyond it's will, it slowly descended a few feet, with Glynda holding one arm over the other, struggling to keep in control.

It screeched out in pain, it's feathers bristling as it lashed out against the mysterious phenomenon it was unfamiliar with.

"HO!"

The Nevermore catapulted several hundred feet in the air, suddenly finding no resistance at all, flinging it's body further and beyond as it's body hurtled and spun wildly in the air, with the blades from Penny scoring deep scratches within.

The airship the others was in was in launched backwards mid air, as if fishing for an giant whale while it's fishing line finally snapped.

"Woah!" Qrow shouted from within. "Hey, keep it steady old man!"

"You should've held on tighter!" The pilot countered with a deep growl.

"Father is not old." Penny said flatly. "He is only 54 years 4 months 2 days 10 hours 55 minutes 10 seconds of age."

"That's OLD!" Qrow yelled, staggering over the low groaning of the ship that finally tiltied with the correct attitude.

Before he has a chance to open his mouth again, his eyes widened as he pushed Winter, who was looking the other way, out of danger, right on time to evade a giant metal dish came clattering into the small opening in the ship.

"Are you _trying_ to kill us?!" Qrow snarled, a trickle of sweat cascading down the side of his brow, barely having the time to react himself as Jaune and Pyrhha clambered to their knees, as far away from the open hatch as possible

"That's a funny way to thank us." Kevin taunted as Qrow dusted himself off. "You're welcome by the way."

"Fuck you." Qrow cussed instead, and would've getting an elbow from his niece, if she was even able to stand up.

"Uncle Qrow..." Ruby muttered instead, almost to the point of slurring weakly as the ginger haired android helped her up by her shoulders to prop her against her seat, which she fell off of from the moment the plane jerked.

"Friend Kevin." The ginger haired girl greeted with an uncanny smile. "I am glad you are safe from harm."

"And I you." Kevin replied.

His eyes then roved over to the other figure beside the small reaper, where the cat faunus... her clone to be exact, was sitting with stiff shoulders, while her real self was on her feet with eyes and ears just as suspicious, securing the doorway between the cockpit and the assassin in their midst.

Her hands loosely gripped Gambol Shroud as amber eyes tracked the multi coloured girl.

"Secure Weiss first!"

Neo strapped the elder Schnee to her seat, holding out both hands in an attempt to calm her down as the Atlesian Specialist struggled to get loose, but the small girl proved stronger than she looked, and managed to hold her down as she buckled the safety belts on her waist.

"What is she doing here?!" Blake yelled. "She's working with Roman Torchwick! She was the one who knocked Yang out on the train! She's here to kill us all!"

"Uhh..." Adrian muttered.

"Great..." Kevin placed a palm on his forehead and dragged it down his face.

_Looks like I have to take everything into my own hands for once._

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

...

...

...

Everybody stood there as they stared at him, speechless and frozen on whatever they were doing in the first place.

...

"This is the part where you say 'engine start', right?" Adrian asked as he glanced at Kevin.

_Shift_

"Not now." Kevin shoved him as his eyes strayed to Amber, who lay lifeless on the cold floor. "What happened?" He asked as his eyes met the only 2 conscious members of team RWBY. "Where's Evans?"

"W-we don't know..." Ruby admitted, and yelped as all eyes and attention landed on her. "I-I think we saved Louis... from that... that... thing." Ruby managed to blurt out with a shiver, hugging her arms as she broke off eye contact and met the floor. "Then we got blasted away with white light. By the time we returned..."

"Shit." Kevin cursed as he peered off the edge to see if he can find a black glint of steel.

"W-what was that thing anyway?" It was Blake's turn to shake, as her breaths came out hitched. Her feet turned to jelly as she was suddenly reminded of her bad burn and the pain on her palms. "What did we just encounter?"

"Miss Belladona." Glynda asked sternly with the tone of a woman with authority, though there was a tinge of concern in her tone. "What did both you and Miss Rose see?"

"Something that shouldn't ever be birthed or given life to." Kevin explained without turning back, eyes darting left and right to see any signs of life other than the river of black that was crawling and piling atop each other en masse. "Where did you last saw him?"

"O-on the dragon..." Ruby faltered as both her and Blake's hearts sank.

Any hopes that their efforts was worth it died an ugly death as a pit opened in their stomachs, threatening to swallow them hole.

"D-does that mean... h-he's... L-Louis is..." Ruby sniffled as her eyes turned glassy, unshed tears almost spilling out. "L-Louis is..." Her voice cracked. "He's..."

...

...

"Well, I don't see a glint of metal anywhere near that bastard of a giant, everything is barely reflective despite the forest fire lighting everything up as far as my eyes can see, so they sure as hell made it out of there somehow."

Blake's feline ears perked up at that, even Ruby visibly released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her shoulder's sagged in relief.

"But there's no telling if he's alive." Kevin hissed as he slammed his palm against the door. "I'm not sure how far they've gone, but if that dragon's gonna fully recover it'll flood the whole forest with fire and or Grimm. There's no telling where he is. Why the fuck did he had to pick black?"

Blake's ears flattened against her head and looked away with gritted teeth.

"B-but there's a chance?" Ruby asked meekly. "I mean, Evans hadn't returned to Amber's body-"

"Or his own." Adrian said as he pointed at the glass tube at the end of the ship, similar to the ones Amber was kept in, but laid out horizontally and placed top and bottom like bunk beds instead of side by side, with the panels filled with rows of buttons in between.

"True." Kevin smirked. "So he probably is alive, we just need to know where to look."

"Where do we even start?" Blake asked, but was completely ignored by the 3 men as they continued.

"You might've just cost us the only way to deal with that dragon Grimm." Derrick muttered, getting confused looks from everybody around, bar Qrow, who's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh you wanna deal with the aftermath?" Kevin challenged. "I'm sure Louis would be in a great mood after going on a literal rampage. Maybe he'll cheer up once he figures out you used his teammate as a tool."

"Hey, I don't like it either, but it's kill or be killed." Derrick said as he put both hands up in front of his face to defend himself. "And right now, I prefer the former. It's just an idea, unless you have a better one."

"Kevin." Adrian said in a worried tone as he pointed. "Is it just me? Or is the dragon fusing with the Amity Arena and making it it's core?"

Kevin's shoulders stiffened, without even looking at his face, his body language indicated that he was panicking as he rushed off to pop his head out of the rectangular space, not even worrying for a second that he could fall.

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE!"

"We have to get out of here." Qrow pointed out. "Now."

Everybody just shot him confused looks. Some glares, from Blake and Kevin especially while others longed for an explanation.

"We're not going anywhere without Louis." Ruby said from her seat.

"Neither are we." Kevin snarled. "You got a problem with that?"

"Look pal, that thing is gonna recover soon. If you want to stay here searching for a dead man then by all means, be my guest." Qrow said as he paused to glance at Ruby for a second, before looking at Yang. "But I'm not going to let my nieces be part of it."

"Uncle Qr-"

"We. Are. Not. Leaving. Without. Louis." Kevin repeated. "So you can go fuck yourself if you think you wanna go. You could transform into a bird and fly away any time can you not-?"

Kevin suddenly found nothing to stand on as his feet dangled in the air, a palm wrapping around his throat, taking only a loose finger to send him tumbling to his death.

"Who are you working for? Salem?!" Qrow yelled. "Who are you?!"

"Qrow!" Both Winter and Glynda yelled.

"Uncle Qrow let him go!"

"Stay out of this Ruby!" Qrow snarled as he used his free hand to push Ruby back to her seat. "Where is she?! Where is Salem and what's she planning to do next?!"

Kevin smirked as he stared Qrow down, not even bothered that his life or death was in the hands of the man before him.

Literally.

"Provoke the drunken man why don't you." Adrian sighed as he put his hand around Qrow's arm. "Let him go Qrow."

"Are you sure about that?" Qrow threatened as he looked at the forest. "Adrian was it? You a part of this too?"

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you who we are." Kevin said without a hint of fear in his tone. "At least, not without constant proof, and that's gonna take time, so I'd recommend you let me back in the ship, then we could talk about it when we finally get the band back together."

"You think I'm stupid?" Qrow snarled and tightened his grip around his throat. "The moment I let you back in, you're going to alert the Queen about our whereabouts."

"I'm not a part of her faction, if that's what you're worried about." Kevin sighed nonchalantly. "Even if I was, your nieces would've been nothing but bones by now. But if you wish to kill me in front of Ruby, do it. It'll just show you what kind of a man you really are."

"Grrrh..." Qrow growled as Harbinger rattled in his arm, his knuckles turning white as the small leader stared at him with wide eyes.

He raised Harbinger above his head. "You really like to run your mouth don't you? I don't have to kill you, I could just-"

"They're not from this world!"

"Jaune...?" Pyrhha muttered as she held her boyfriend back. "You're not supposed to-"

"What do you expect me to do? Sit back and watch while they get tortured like this?" Jaune said as he held out both hands to Qrow, who kept his eyes to Kevin at all times. "They don't deserve to be treated like this. They've helped us so much, and this is how we repay them?!"

"Who are 'they'?" Glynda asked. "Mr Arc, explain yourself, what do you know that we don't?"

"Louis, Evans, Kevin, Adrian, Derrick and Dwiki." Jaune held his breath for a second as he expected both Adrian and Derrick to lunge at him to shut him up, but to his surprise, both just stared in amusement. "They're from another world named Earth. They died there, reincarnated here in our world. On earth however, our world is an show of some kind made for their sick entertainment. The point I'm trying to get across is..." He took a deep breath. "They know things we don't, like what's about to happen, and to our advantage, they're on our side."

"Ah dammit..." Adrian slapped his knee. "Here!"

5 lien fluttered past Kevin and into the evening air, floating down like a dried leaf into the forest below.

"You couldn't have waited_ until_ we were both back on the plane?" Kevin deadpanned. "That doesn't count by the way, so you still owe me 5 for the bet that lover boy would crack first."

Qrow glanced at Ruby, where she had her head down, refusing to meet his eyes, then to Blake, who glumly nodded.

"And who put that shit in your head?"

"Louis did..." Ruby muttered softly. "He told us-"

"Then he could just be another Cinder, only told to turn on you all later rather then sooner. Salem has gotten a little more creative on the backstories these days." Qrow spat. "Natural, given how long she's lived with nothing but Grimm it'll drive anybody insane."

"Oh yeah, sure, have him within the legendary Berserker armor which impales the user in order to fix them mind you, have him draw the Grimm _away _from Beacon and towards the deserted Mount Glenn, kill them all, ripped the tail out of Dwayne Johnson's scorpion king with better CG, and gravely injure Cinder, the latter being half the maiden mind you, and is currently in a position to die here and now should we leave him." Kevin said with sarcasm so thick, it could kill a cow. "Did I miss anything?"

"I think you missed the part where he actually brought all the Grimm back." Qrow smirked victoriously at his little loophole, and Kevin felt the man's fingers loosen slightly. "That's proof enough that he's on Salem's side, isn't it?"

"And he wouldn't have," Kevin said simply. "If you'd have arrived to save her on time. Or if she didn't try to save me and let that sword actually connect." He said at the trembling reaper grasping her naval. "Glad to see you're doing alright, by the way, but try not to do that again."

"B-but that's what huntresses do." Ruby tried to explain herself. "W-we protect people."

"And I appreciate the save." Kevin said with a wave of his hand. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful. But you're his teammate. You're all as important to him as we are, and we've known him probably all our lives."

"It was the trigger to knock his 'Overdrive' loose, like a shaken soda can. Thus, the Grimm come." He explained as he gestured behind him. "Just like ants."

"I think you forgot to mention one thing." Someone said. "That he slept wi-"

"Let's... leave that out of the equation for now." Kevin cut off before his hard earned effort died an ugly death. "Glad to see you're in one piece, clumsy D." He said as his eyes looked past Qrow and over to the co pilot's seat, directly above Blake's cat ears. "Though you couldn't handle this commotion long before we got here to give us a warm welcome?"

"Haaaagh..." He mooed as his seat spun around. "What's the point in trying? They wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"He finally realized it on his own accord." Adrian snickered.

"Why me?"

"Is this true?" Qrow ignored then and looked over his shoulder, breaking off eye contact with the rotund man just this once. "Is that where all the Grimm went to when we rendezvoused in the city?"

Winter nodded slowly. "Another world though...? That's a bit far fetched. But that explains why they were brave enough to stand between us when we foug- sparred." The Atlesian specialist corrected herself as Glynda sent a glare her way. "They knew our weapons would never have connected in that last moment."

"Wait, we fought?" Qrow asked.

"Right, you were as high as a bird when that happened." Kevin chuckled. "No pun intended."

"Tch..." Qrow slowly placed Kevin down, patting off his shoulders once he was on solid ground. "I still don't trust you, any of you." He added as he looked at Adrian, then Derrick. "But if Ruby trusts this person in that dark suit of armor so much... then we'll go pick him up, but after that," He said quickly when Ruby's eyes lit up. "We leave."

"You can't be serious." Ruby muttered. "Uncle Qrow, we can't just let that thing roam around Remenant-!"

"That _thing_ was responsible for the death of a dear friend of mine." Qrow winced after looking at Ruby, shaking his head as he recalled the memory. "I don't want the same thing happening to you. Any of you." He added as he stared longingly towards Yang.

"With your best efforts, your group tried to kill it, yet it stands." He said, nodding towards Glynda. "It's a good effort, and if that thing really is making the Amity Arena it's core, it's about to gain a lot of weight, so it's not going anywhere anytime soon, it might be for the best to just leave it be."

"B-but it's going to-!"

"We leave once we find your friend Ruby." Qrow repeated. "I'm not about to see history repeat itself just because you think you can stand up to something you're not ready for."

"Teammate." Blake corrected.

"Sure, teammate, whatever. My point stands, we leave afterwards."

"I agree."

"You... do?"

"Blake...?" Ruby asked as she stared at the cat faunus. "What are you-"

"Louis would've said the same thing Ruby." Blake sighed. "That thing is too powerful for us to handle right now. Not even he could imagine this happening."

"B-but if we don't stop it-"

"Beacon was doomed right from the start." Kevin said. "We tried for the direct approach and failed. We find Louis, then we go."

"Grrh..." Ruby bit her lip. "Derrick!"

"Hm?" The person in question faced the small reaper. "What?"

"You said earlier that there was a way for us to deal with the dragon Grimm. How?!"

"W-well..." He said as he nervously glanced at Qrow, then to Kevin for confirmation.

"Your call." Kevin shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling without any purpose as if to say he was on his own should things go south. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"T-the night you met Ozpin..." Derrick started with a small stammer. "What was the first thing said to you?"

Qrow grit his teeth.

"He- I... I don't know, what does that have to do wi-"

"Silver eyes..." Derrick muttered.

"Stop!" Qrow yelled as he stormed towards Derrick, who held out both hands. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Uncle Qrow stop!"

"Ruby get out of my way!" Qrow stepped to the side as Ruby stood in between him and Derrick. "Don't be a hero!"

"What are you talking about?! You taught me how to use a scythe to slay the creatures of Grimm. You told me that I could be anything if I put my heart into it!" Ruby yelled back. "This concerns everybody else, not just me, but Vale, Patch, dad, maybe even Remenant!"

"You don't understand!"

"What? That in too young to be a hero? I enrolled in Beacon for a good reason Uncle Qrow. I wanted to be a huntress, and both you and dad ensured I would be a good one."

"That's not it Ru-"

"So why are you stopping me here, why now?" She snapped. "If there is a way to slow it down, let alone kill it, why would I sit and wait when I can-"

"BECAUSE THAT THING KILLED SUMMER!"

...

"W-what...?" Ruby staggered to the side, wobbling unstably and having Derrick flinching with his back into the corner, ready to catch her if needed.

...

"Tch..." Qrow spat to the side, glaring out of the corner of his eye as if to accuse them, as if saying 'See what'd you've made me done?'

"I hoped I didn't ever have to tell you." Qrow sighed, eyes on the floor. "Your mom was a great warrior squirt. And an awesome super mom, the way Yang puts it." He said as his eyes roved over to Yang, his look full of regret as he remembered what his sister did, how she left Tai after the 'accident'. In truth it was more of self sacrifice, so that both he and Raven could live.

"She was an even more experienced silver eyed warrior couldn't deal with that Grimm, so tell me, what's to say you have a chance at all?" Qrow scoffed as he closed his eyes, before giving Ruby a hardened glare that even surpassed Winter's. "You don't even know how to activate them, let alone, know what they do, do you?"

"B-but... Derrick said I did something in the show..." Ruby muttered as her gaze locked onto the man with the purple hood. "I did it, right? I saved everybody by killing the dragon."

"You didn't let me finish." Edgy sighed as he pinched his nose ridge. "You did. You did more than just kill the dragon, you fatally wounded Cinder as well... but it came at a cost."

Ruby's heart sunk and her gut twisted, knowing she wouldn't like what she's about to hear. "And that cost was...?"

...

Exchanging glances between the glum but curious looks everybody was giving him, Derrick took one deep breath before he admitted.

"The death of both Penny and Pyrrha."

**A/N**

**Wew, that took a while to write.**

**Apparently I can't put an end to the Fall all in one chapter, so much for that. Whoopsie me.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**(Really tired of putting chapter marks in here, since most are updated comments while I PM those that comment on early chaps, gonna leave that out from now on.)**

**paradox0.5white: No spoilers here, gonna have to wait for that.**

**Sacke110: Badly timed pun is badly timed. Then again, what can you do when you're high xD. Kevin's just doing what he thinks is right, probably doesn't want anybody to get left behind, so.**

**DankAnon: I KNOW right? I mean, Raven being part in a tribe, I'm sure that's common practice. Wonder if she and Qrow are accidents. **


	48. Chapter 48

"Wh...at...?" Ruby's felt her voice die in her throat as her throat ran dry and her gut clench, her lips quivering as they opened but no words came out.

Her knees suddenly felt weak, and the small reaper's eyes darted between both girls in question.

She crumpled with her hands on the ground as she stared at the floor in disbelief. The tears she tried to hard to hold in finally leaked out, running down the side of her cheeks at the mental image it conjured, a future without their friends by their side. "Penny and Pyrrha... they... didn't make it in reality?"

"Don't act all surprised." Adrian mumbled, causing everybody in the room to shoot him dangerous glares, some eyes even narrowing down as they gripped their weapons tighter.

"What he's trying to say is, it's not like you didn't heard all this from Dwiki all beforehand." Kevin sighed as he ran a hand through his hair while the students looked away, and the adults wondering whether they should believe the words of, putting it loosely, a stranger, especially if it's diminishing any motivation that included foretold _deaths_.

"We didn't believe his words, or forgot most of them since they were jumbled up and hazy, not to mention very vague. We only heeded Louis's warnings." Pyrrha sighed into Jaune's chest. "What Louis said overshadowed Dwiki's since there was a lot going on at the time, and we weren't as well informed since we kept things from each other."

"I couldn't blame you." Kevin shrugged.

"Even though I never watched this show of yours, both Evans and Louis do genuinely care what happens to you. All of you." He added as his eyes scanned over the group. "They summarized the synopsis as detailed as possibly can post haste. Both Penny." He pointed at the once bubbly android, who's lips turned into a flat line, expression unreadable. "And Pyrrha," He glanced over to see Jaune holding her in his arms, cradling her like it was the last time he was going to see her. "Died. Penny in the stadium, cut off by her own wires due to illusions cast by Emerald, while Pyrrha atop Beacon Tower, trying to stop Cinder."

"Funny." Qrow mused. "So in this '_world_'," He sneered at the word, making air quotations with a sarcastic edge on his tongue. "Of yours with this _'show'_ going on, both my nieces made it out in one piece? Sounds ideal to me-"

"Blondie there lost her arm." Derrick cut off, shooting down Qrow's cocky smirk and causing it to instantly be turned into a frown. "She got cocky against the man you were fighting earlier for never having lost a fight before. Remember him?" He asked. "The one you fought before you passed out?"

"I would've cleaved him in two if your _Louis_ there didn't interfere, effectively ending that prospect happening later." Qrow snarled. "Or even completely ending the fact that he almost _killed_ my other niece!" He slammed Harbinger's hilt against the inner wall's of the ship, making a small indent. "That wasn't supposed to happen now was it?!"

"The point I'm trying to get across is... " Kevin continued and ignored Qrow, knowing he wouldn't attack, at least not yet. "Your _silver eyes_ couldn't activate, at least not now, not without a sacrifice. It was still a mystery element in the show when these guys last saw it, and we don't know for sure what triggers it."

"But from what _we_ know of it," Derrick added. "As far as I can tell it's a Deus Ex Machina, something that activates after the story gets desperate and needs a way out of the plot that doesn't really make sense, thus we can't rely on it here. Maybe in time we could use it, but for now..." He sighed. "It's too risky."

"So we're out of ideas on how to defeat it. That means we're back to square one, and the only option we have, we find your stupid frie- teammate." Qrow corrected when he saw Ruby looking pleadingly into his eyes, and Blake's narrowed dangerously. "Then we get out."

"As much as I would _hate_ to admit it." Winter closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "Qrow is right. The reason I made my presence known is because I have an objective. That objective being to leave with Weiss, alive." She added unnecessarily. "Qrow has a similar goal with his nieces, and I'm sure you foreigners don't want to throw your lives out for naught now do you?"

"Ugh... " Someone slurred sluggishly and stirred. "Did someone... call my name...? What's with... all the noise...?"

"Speak of the devil." Kevin scoffed.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed. "Y-you're awake!" She tried to dash across to her partner's side but tumbled halfway, causing the heiress to be the one to approach the small leader.

"Careful you dolt!" Weiss caught her halfway through the fall. Her eyes widened the moment she realized her hand touched torn fibers of cloth and that she can feel a large scar across her hip. "What happened?!"

"Weiss get back to your seat." Winter demanded as she made to unbuckle, only to sit back down as Neo held out her parasol, shaking her head.

"Winter?! What are you doing here? Blake? Why is Yang unconscious? What's the midget," Neo's face twitched. "Doing here?! She tried to kill us and now she's helping us?! What's going on?"

"You don't remember?" The small leader asked hazily.

"No... agh..." Weiss held the side of her head, and when she pulled her hand away, sighed in relief to find that there was no blood, or if there was, it was all dried up now and the wound had sealed.

"What's the last thing you recall before you passed out?" Kevin asked.

"I remember... the man named Arthur Watts." Weiss recalled as she put a finger to her chin. "I remember now... He was a wanted criminal with expertise in mixing corrosive or bio-hazardous Dust, and was infamous for his abilities to hack into the toughest of security networks and access highly encrypted folders. Then..." Her eyes popped open. "The scorpion faunus... he lunged at you. Oh god, are you ok?!" Weiss's eyes roved up and down Ruby's body to check for toxic substances.

"I'm fine Weiss." Ruby's hands slowly pushed the heiress's away. "I-I'm fine." She repeated, her voice cracking slightly, still letting the facts sink in. "His stinger didn't manage to reach me in time."

"That explains the virus they may have planted." Kevin said as he carried Amber towards the glass tube at the end of the ship as he set her down directly below Evans's coffin, and sealed the glass chamber with a soft click, securing both bodies in place.

"And who might you be?"

_Kevin's POV_

"Kevin, friend of Louis." He introduced. "Look, I'm all for bed time stories, but we have no time to explain everything. Qrow, you said you wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, and so does Winter." Qrow and Winter nodded. "Good, then I'm going to need you to comply with us. Survey the forest for a glint of black steel. Your eyes should be well suited for it, with a literal birds eye view on the whole situation."

"On it." Qrow leapt out of the ship, and Kevin had to stop Ruby from leaping overboard the moment he did.

A caw then resounded from below the ship, before a black crow zipped and swerved the area in a wide radius, avoiding the area nearby dragon, who was almost done reforming entirely, leaving it's claws for last.

It seems as though grew twice it's size, though as Qrow pointed out, it's sheer massive bulk made it so that it couldn't not only fly, but even move out of place. It's legs kicked and twitched as it roared and screeched in confusion at it's immobility, lashing out at nearby Grimm that were trying to throw itself into the beast to become one.

_The Grimm were mindless, and since the Amity Arena did crash and sort of merge along with the dragon Grimm itself, they must've confused it for an extension of it's body, and decided to repair along with it. _Kevin observed as he peered over the edge of the opening, his feet half in the air, with only his center of gravity keeping him inside.

_The Amity Arena is going to be made it's core, and if- when that happens, it's going to digest the dust, maybe even going as far as to infuse some of the lesser Grimm with it, enhancing them, making them grow stronger and more agile and probably the ability to breathe out elemental atta-_

_Wait..._

"Ruby."

"Hm?" Ruby looked up along with Weiss who was stroking the girl's back to provide some form of comfort, and it took a moment for Kevin to realize she was sniffling, probably for feeling so helpless and frail. "What?"

"You and Weiss could combine your attacks can't you?" Kevin asked,drumming his fingers against the wall, getting a small nod in return. "How low does uhh..."

"Ice Flower." Derrick said.

"Thank you. Ice Flower bring the temperature down to?"

"Below freezing." Weiss scoffed needlessly. "Ice Dust could instantly freeze people, but it's more to keep something in place rather than hurt someone. They have Aura to keep their blood from freezing too fast and before the cold reaches their bones they could break it just by flexing their muscles if they're strong enough."

"Yeah but that's how it works on a person with aura."

"Yes..." Weiss raised her brow.

"But the creatures of Grimm don't have Aura." Kevin smirked, causing Ruby to perk up, though her face was still set in a sulk. "How far does this attack of yours travel."

"As far as Ruby can shoot her bullets."

"About 97 meters at most." The young reaper said. "And then the trajectory will start to change to gravity."

"How accurate can you place the shots with that zoom in your scope?"

Weiss stared at Ruby.

Ruby stared back.

They both met Kevin's eyes.

"Depends, how big is the target?"

_Qrow's POV_

_Tch..._ Qrow thought as he soared the skies.

_Always wants the hero, just like her mother._

_"Qrow..." Summer didn't turn back once as boulders crashed in between, obscuring Qrow's vision. "Take care of my little petal for me..."_

_"I will S-Summer" Qrow grit through bloodied teeth. "I swear it."_

_"T-thank you..." Summer muttered an apology, clutching the wound above her hip._

**_ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR_**

_"AAAGGH!"_

_"SUMMMER!"_

"That look in Ruby's eyes." Qrow spat to the side as he hovered idly in the air. "It's the same one..."

_So, he's that important to her? Well, looks like I'll have a fun time interogatti- questioning this guy, and what Ruby means to him._

_The fact that he piqued Raven's interest as well..._

_Just... who is this Louis?_

"Bring him in first, grumble later." Qrow reminded himself. "There's no use overthinking it now if he's gonna just end up as a corpse."

As he scanned the area, he swooped down low, encircling nearby the ruins which seemed to be mostly destroyed by a giant Grimm. In the corner of his eyes, a glimmer of dark steel accompanied by crimson glinted in the black night.

Qrow lips twisted upwards in relief.

_Kevin's POV_

"How sure are you that this will work?" Weiss asked, holding out Myrtenaster with one hand overlapping the other to get a stable grip. She seemed to have regained at least a small semblance of aura to work with in her slumber.

The white glyph rotated and glowed fiercely as Ruby jabbed the end of Cresent Rose to the metallic floor with a shrilled screech.

"You're asking me that?" Kevin gestured at himself as he made to raise his brow. "This is your attack, not mine."

"Remember, the only reason I'm allowing you to do this is the fact that we're doing this from afar." Winter sighed defeatedly after a couple of attempts to get up, only to sit back down due to the assassin before her placing the length of her parasol across her chest, shaking her head.

Weiss and Blake looked at her in confusion.

Gone was the cocky smirk they spotted on the train, the cruel smile and the prideful gestures that stated she was above them, with only relief remained.

"Don't worry, she's with us." Derrick stated. "Louis made it happen."

"He is in so much trouble once he gets back." Weiss gnashed her teeth against each other, and the glyph flickered brighter for just a few seconds. "I'm gonna make sure he stays in the ice block this time."

"No arguments on that." Blake chuckled. "Might need to secure him with Gambol Shrouds ribbon too, just as an extra precaution."

"If this last attempt to slay the dragon fails..." Glynda started. "And it notices us, we -"

"We bail, I get it." Kevin snorted as he tasted his finger, putting it up in the air to feel any wind.

There was a slight breeze in the air currently, which shouldn't affect the bullet path too much.

But...

With the avian Grimm nosediving and thrashing along with the horde as they eagerly sacrificed themselves to merge along with it, the Nevermore from before included, Kevin was sure it would change drastically when it came close.

With it's momentum diminished at that point, best case scenario is that, it could get caught in or ricochet off of a raised claw, completely missing their target by a few meters.

Worse case scenario?

It'd hit the dragon right in it's face, instantly alerting it of their position.

"It's impossible to predict I know," Ruby admitted, noticing Kevin's look. "But I have practice and experience with moving targets... So I'll just have to try to aim somewhere above it to avoid moving limbs."

Ruby looked to Kevin for confirmation, and returned it with an approving nod.

"The target I'm aiming for being where the Grimm are least piling up on top of each other, the area thinnest layer of Grimm."

"Effectively flash freezing those suckers." Kevin nodded again with arms crossed. "Then you fire an incendiary round immediately afterward through that area, if needed, enhanced by Elsa's-"

"Who?"

"Weiss's" He corrected himself. "Time Dilation to increase the speed of the bullet, blasting a hole through the ranks big enough for a man to walk through, then one final shot should connect with the turbines to blow the whole thing up." He repeated for both her and Weiss's sakes.

"Shields should logically be down since it only takes a Giant Nevermore to crash the whole system," Glynda looked away in embarrassment, muttering under her breath on how Ozpin and her are going to have a chat about this. "And we literally brought it down with enough force to take out Beacon. If what you say is true, then this attack of yours is colder then spraying liquid nitrogen all over that thing. It's absolute zero temperatures at best. If we get lucky, we'll trigger a chain reaction that'll freeze it inside out. Though one could only hope we'd hit a Dust reserve. No pressure though." Kevin added for the sake of everybody around him.

"Right..." Ruby mumbled as she laid down a cartridge filled with explosive dust enhanced caliber rounds on the ground next to her, pulling the bolt handle back to ensure there was no bullet currently loaded in the chamber. "None at all..."

"Hey, you gonna commit to your words or what?" Kevin asked with a raised brow. "I thought you wanted to get rid of the dragon."

_Ruby's POV_

"I do!" Ruby said quickly, a little too quickly before she shied back nervously. "It's just... I'd figured we'd do it together as a team. Along with Louis rather then being separated like this." She pouted. "I mean, if he's pulling something off this big why didn't he just tell us? We could've done this together, and it would've been better, more effective, and more efficient."

"Let's wait until your uncle comes back with him and ask him ourselves, shall we?" Kevin snickered at the thought of the beating his friend would get without having time to recover. "You're not the only one with a score to settle."

Taking a deep breath, Ruby nodded and peeped into her scope.

Her finger wrapped around the trigger guard, curling around the trigger itself slowly and rattling against it as she stabilized the huge bulk of a scythe, embedding it's blade on the edge of the hatch and pulling it back to infuse it with the floor, securing it into place.

"You... killed... mom..." She muttered under her breath.

She took another deep breath and laid down on her naval to calm herself even further.

"You killed my friends..."

Slowly, she let out the air in her lungs with one long breath that came out in a long hiss through grit teeth and angry tears that streamed down the side of her face, and...

Took the shot.

A loud crackle rumbled like lightning, a small flash of silver glinting through the black night as the bullet left it's chamber.

The Grimm never saw it coming. Frost spread through their ranks, freezing the limbs off of an amalgamation of Beowolves and Boarbatusks. An Alpha Beowolf tore off it's frozen limb, howling in pain as it turned it's neck around to see where the source came from.

The others... followed.

The shot rattled and shook the Atlesian airship they were in, causing the short haired girl to give out a startled cry as her body scraped against the floor, dragging a bloody trail across.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried out and ran to her side as the glyph flickered out of existence. "W-what happened?"

"Her stitches tore open." Kevin cursed as he went over to Weiss's side to check on Ruby, before a low hiss caught his attention. "Fuck, I didn't recount for that."

He turned his neck, and didn't fail to miss the ripped metal on the floor, and Cresent Rose faling to the side with a loud clatter. "And the recoil was too much for both Ruby and the plane to handle. She's used to jabbing and firing it on solid ground."

"What do we do?" Weiss asked, eyes darting around for medical aid.

"Screw the plan, we leave as per our agreement." Kevin said as he scurried to his feet to make his way towards the cockpit. "Tell Qrow via scroll to fly to us once he spots Louis and bring him to a rendezvous point. We'll send the coordinates later. Come on let's g-"He was halted by someone grabbing his foot.

"I can do this..." Ruby insisted with a small whimper, her head trembling to meet the eyes of the rotund man as her eyes teared up. "Please... give me another... chance. I-I... can do... this..."

Weiss exchanged glances with Blake, who took one look at open space to see if they still have that window of opportunity.

A scream tore away from Blake's throat as the side of her face tinted with a fierce glowed orange that seemed to flicker brighter, and brighter.

"Hold on!" The pilot exclaimed as the plane barely manage to swerve out of the way of a huge fireball.

"SHIT!"

Kevin's body lurched out of the plane.

"Kev!" Derrick shouted as he clung onto one of the seats, reaching out his hand but his range was too short.

Something grasped him by the collar, pulling him back in with tremendous force and somehow barely managing to barely pull him up.

He fell on his rear with a loud thud.

"Whew, that was close." Jaune wiped the beads of sweat trickling down his face with the back of his hand.

"Guess you're not so bad after all." Kevin smirked just as he finished panting from the sudden lurch in blood pressure, still feeling the effects of his heart rate jumping, and tried to keep the bile out of his throat.

"Save it for until we live through this." Jaune winked and smirked back, offering a hand to help him up.

Kevin took it gladly. "Guess we're even."

"I was actually indebted to you?" Jaune balked, earning a small giggle from the red haired champion. "I don't think I'd want to owe _you_ favours."

"Come on, I won't be that bad." Kevin put a hand to his chin. "At least I don't think I will."

"I'm not going to take my chances..."

"Incoming!"

Another fireball hurtled itself towards the group.

The plane once again swerved to the left, finding itself in a very precarious position once again as the plane pulled a barrel roll in thin air, swerving out of the way while the passengers within clung on for their dear life.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Jaune put both hands over his mouth.

"Don't you f-in dare!" Derrick shouted aloud.

"What should we do?!" Weiss grit her teeth, jabbing her rapier to the ground to conjure up a black glyph that spread rapidly to the corners of the ship, it glowed fiercely, holding everybody in place.

"Don't die!" Kevin yelled over the noise of items being flipped on their heads.

"Other than the obvious!"

"We should go find cover, somewhere where it'll have trouble finding us!" Derrick suggested.

"What, the clouds?" Kevin asked, then nodded off to their pilot. "You heard em."

"Respect your elders sonny." The pilot said, now finally visible from Ruby's end.

An elderly man with dark skin complexity stood at their cockpit. A green cap and a bright yellow shirt was visible from where Ruby was, while a red vest rests over it. Standing or even squatting being the correct term, for he was on a wheelchair of sorts with 4 mechanical legs supporting him.

"Atlas Tech." Weiss whispered to Ruby, reading her expression. "Who are you?" She asked, finally acknowledging the person in charge of their lives.

"Ah, Penny's friends." He said, jerking the control wheel upwards and spinning it wildly to the left, doing another barrel roll to avoid a continuous jet of fire. "She's told me stories about you."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"Probably because father is busy." Penny said nonchalantly as she grounded herself with her blades.

"FATHER?!" Weiss gasped.

"Yes," The elder man chuckled mirthfully. "Allow me to introduce myself as Doctor Pietro Polendina. But you can call me Doctor P for short."

_Qrow's POV_

Qrow's mouth opened and closed but no words came out as he eyed the ship doing spins and turns that would have rivaled a roller coaster, avoiding what seemed to be, continuous barrages of volcanic fire.

_What... the... FUCK?!_

"You've got to be kidding me." Qrow facepalmed as he dashed through the forest as fast as he could.

Evans's_ POV_

_Are those... footsteps?_

_Don't do this to me now ears, don't play with my head in my last moments._

Qrow broke through the treeline.

Qrow stared at the bleeding armor sprawled on the floor.

The armor tilted it's head, staring right back.

...

...

...

"**Out of anybody they could've sent, they sent you?**"

"Ungrateful bastard." Qrow spat as he crouched down beside it. "Do you want my help or what?"

"**Only if you aren't gonna kill me.**" Evans groaned the moment Qrow hefted him up over his shoulder, and made to clutch his bad side. "**Guess they filled you in?**"

"Sort of," Qrow admitted. "Another world huh?"

"**Oh they spilled the beans.**" The dark figure muttered. "**Why am I not surprised. Tell me, who was the first to crack?**"

"The blonde one."

"**Who? Yang?**"

"The other one."

"**Glynda?**"

"The unimportant one."

"**Oh, you mean Jaune.**"

...

...

"**Damnit!**" Evans shouted from within the armor.

"What? Left something back there?" Qrow raised a brow.

"**No, it's just that I owe Kevin 5 for thinking Ruby would crack first.** **Fuck.**"

"Hey, that's my niece you're talking about." Qrow sniggered as he trudged through the forest. "Give her some credit."

"**I should be the one telling you that.**" Evans said, tilting his head when a loud boom rumbled throughout the skies and the skies turned orange for a few seconds, before dying down and became it's natural color once more. "**What's happening up there?**"

"Despite my warnings not to be stupid and engage on the Elder Grimm capable to leveling a city..." Qrow started as they cut through a path, leading deeper into the forest, and Evans groaned, knowing exactly where this is going. "Looks like my niece and the Ice Queen's little sister decided to piss it off."

"**The plan didn't work, did it?**"

"Nope." Qrow answered with a frustrated expression. "But it was a good attempt, I'll admit that. Never knew Glynda could be that scary when she's mad."

"**Did everybody at least got on the plane though?**" Evans had to ask. "**Nobody got left out.. right?**"

"None as far as I could tell."

"**Thank god...**" The dark armor sighed in relief.

They finally broke through the treeline and into a clearing Evans recognized too well from their time spent there.

Qrow set him down beside what once used to be a boulder, and tapped his scroll to get in touch with one of the group.

"Come on... pick up..."

"**You should get Neo. The one with pink and brown hair.**" Evans added when Qrow shot him a confused look. "**She's the only one capable of teleportation and the only one who could move me onto that ship. I would ask for the ship to land here so that everybody could help me on but... you know how that's gonna go. I don't want to risk them as much as you do.**"

"Point taken." Qrow said as he leapt up, body twisting and shrinking into a small bird, before fluttering up into the evening night sky.

_Ruby's POV_

A small figure shot into the plane, almost squashing itself against the wall of the ship with the sudden jerks and rotations it was doing.

"Oh ehehehe... Hi Uncle Qrow..." Ruby said nervously as the bird shook and writhed around, like a dog ridding of water fresh from a shower, growing into a size of a grown man and glared at her, causing her to run a hand through her hair.

"I left... _for_ FIVE. MINUTES!"

Ruby shrunk back to the corner of the plane as she refused to meet her uncle's eyes.

"You ugh! Hey, pinkie." Qrow jabbed his finger out and towards open air. "The big bad wolf is calling out for ya."

Neo nodded quickly, her half panicked expression stating she would rather be anywhere else then in a spinning plane.

Her image shattered and then, she was gone.

"Care to explain what happened, oh dear niece of mine?" Qrow asked, turning his back to face the Gryphon that came in screeching, not even bothered that it revealed it's own location as long as there was a feast, only to get it's torso torn apart. "I thought we agreed to lay low!"

"I... I just wanted to help..." Ruby muttered with her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Well a good fat lot that did huh?" Qrow gestured towards the metal underneath him, which was split in two.

"Qrow!" Glynda snapped. "She would've done what any huntress would. You don't have the right to say she's in the wrong."

"Whatever." Qrow bashed another Gryphon's skull in with the butt of his hilt.

A shimmer of light twinkled from inside the ship, before Neo materialized with a bulk dark armor that was leaking warm and fresh blood beside her as she laid the body down.

"Louis!" Ruby scrambled to her feet to try and reach the ironclad figure, only to go prone again once a third Gryphon actually managed to broke ranks by flying above Qrow's guard.

It squawked fiercely as it landed atop the small leader, almost deafening her and forcing her to put both hands over her head as she curled up into a ball.

"Get off my niece!" Qrow roared angrily as he wrapped Harbinger's blade around it's throat, pulling it back and beheading the creature clean off it's shoulders.

A spray of blood flooded the cabin's floor, spiling off the edge and onto the grassy tundra below.

"There!" Qrow yelled as he pointed at the heavily armored man. "Mission accomplished, let's go!"

"Not yet!" Ruby pointed at the frozen patch of Grimm, the rest around it detecting the external threat and spreading around once more. "We need to kill it otherwise it'll just keep sending more Grimm after us!"

"And who's fault was that?" Qrow snarled.

"We can take it out-"

"No means no Ruby! Get us out of here!"

The plane made to swerve again, but the sudden jerk in movement caused them all to stumble and stagger.

"What the-" Qrow's eyes widened as he scampered to the edge and poked his head out to take a look underneath the ship. "Shit."

What the land based Grimm lacked in terms of agility, they made for in strength and packs.

A chain of Beowolves scrambled atop each other, trampling and making a ramp to scale already tall trees as a base, chaining and linking together to make one enormous black tendril that seemed to have sprouted off of the ground. Qrow looked left and right to see Ursas, Boarbatusks and the rest doing the same using their hooks, tusks, claws, even jaws at some point to make sure the chain stays strong and unbreakable.

"GAH!" Blake stumbled as another massive tendril pierced it's hull and attempted to drag them down.

A third struck not soon after, piercing the plane's wing, the Beowolf at the very tip snarling as it happily gnawed on the chunk of metal, happy to be a sacrifice and used as an anchor to hold the ship in place as long as the others could feast.

The ground rumbled as Goliaths advanced, approaching them ever so slowly, with the group knowing if those trunks reach the ship, they could forget any attempt to escape.

"Hold on," Qrow said. "I'll cut them loo-"

The dragon's roar cut through his thoughts. And though it's position was distant, the oncoming ball of fire made of pure fire dust was not.

"Haaah!" Winter yelled as a huge wall of ice erected from the ground and encased the plane in a wide arc, then shattering instantly, spraying tiny shrapnels of ice back into the ship as ball of inferno blasted it away with a bright light.

"Agh!" She jabbed her rapier behind her for support and grit her teeth, using her body to shield who she could, prioritizing Weiss.

"Fuck!" Qrow yelled out in pain as the heat spread through his back, echoing the Atlesian Specialist and spreading his arms out to widen his span, if only just a little.

The two guardians forced one eye to crack open.

Winter looked at Qrow.

Qrow stared at Winter.

They both turned to look back in sync to see a purple shield spreading the fire evenly around the ship, dispersing the heat as it sizzled the outer rim of the plane.

"I'm out..." Glynda panted heavily as she fell on her knees. "Completely out of... Aura... I can't protect the ship from another blast like that."

"Uncle Qrow..." Ruby whimpered, silver eyes full of angry tears as she looked up to her uncle. Her voice cracked. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Close your eyes kiddo." Qrow sighed as he wrapped the small reaper in a tight embrace, holding out his hand to touch Yang's. "It's not completely your fault. I would've done the same in your shoes. I'm sorry for saying those things earlier."

"I forgive you..." The small leader sobbed.

"Heh... that's all I could ever wish for."

Something rattled in front of her.

"Lou!" Someone from the crowd yelled. "What are you-"

The screeching of metal against metal caused goosebumps to travel down their spine, and some to clutch the side of their heads from the sharp headache the shrill noise instantly applied on their nerves.

When Ruby made to look over her uncle's shoulder, it was to see the dark armor propping Cresent Rose up on his knee, with one glowing visor down the sights.

Her eyes darted around, and widened into dinner plates when she saw that his whole breastplate had fallen off- no, torn off by claws, spikes jutting out from the inside of it's chassis and evenly coated in blood.

"**Open wide for me asshole.**" The umbral figure hissed through grit teeth as he wrapped a trembling finger around the trigger. "**I got you a snack.**"

"What are you trying to do, tickle it?" Qrow asked with a sarcastic edge, and got his answer in the form of a ear splitting boom.

Blinding light washed over the plane as a streak of crimson energy blasted from the tip of Cresent Rose and tore through the fireball, and not quite believing her own eyes, caused it to get absorbed into what seemed to be a bullet, and blasted both it's spine and the army of Grimm clambering atop it to smithereens.

What remained was a cylindrical gaping hole the size of a Bullhead that had red hot hardened cracks and lines that glowed like red hot embers alongside it, as if it had just been blasted by lava fresh from a volcano.

The whole ship rocked back with a loud hum and even louder whirr, the Grimm around them roaring or howling in pain as their supposedly unbreakable makeshift links were torn off by the recoil alone, causing in most of their skin stretching like rubber before blood and gore gushed out off of their torn ligaments.

But they held on, more clambered on their backs to replace their fallen kin, biting down on their top halves while the ones below them clamped their jaws on their thighs.

The entire length of Cresent Rose's blade hissed, glowing bright orange as it slightly deformed at the edge, the cap, despite being made of solid steel, melted off from the heat that emanated from one shot alone.

_StarDust..._ Ruby realized from the blood that dripped onto the cabin floors, with the source being the bottom of her weapon._ He forced some StarDust into Cresent Rose's chamber and fired it..._

"**Tch...**" He growled as his legs gave away. "**I... missed...**"

Something caught him by his shoulders.

The black figure craned his neck, crimson visors meeting silver eyes, and a warm but watery smile.

No words were exchanged, just a slight nod from the smaller of the two, with the latter staggering backwards to make space.

Her fingers trembled as it laid on her own weapon, it felt so familiar yet so foreign at the same time, now knowing the destructive capabilities of Star Dust.

A gauntleted arm wrapped around hers.

It wasn't forceful, and despite it's sharp claws, hard exterior and fact that it was cold to the touch, even slightly slimy from all the dried blood leaked and more that continued to cascade down, Ruby found it warm, gentle and somehow...

Comforting.

"**You can do this...**" He said as he crouched behind her.

"Right." She nodded again at the reassurance the presence gave her.

She peered down the sights, where the dragon roared and wailed in agony, writhing wildly and shaking off the Grimm that were trying their best to repair it's cauterized wound. She focused her crosshair on the Arena, the end jutting upwards and untouched by the black mass around it.

She took a deep breath.

Her heart pounded against her chest.

Her wound burned.

Her hands trembled, but another pair slowly wrapped around them, guiding her hands so they didn't shake too much.

She slowly let out the air in her lungs with a long hiss.

"This... is for my mother. And..." Ruby grind her teeth together. "FOR BEACON!"

Cresent Rose... shattered.

Another crimson streak tore free from the tip of her weapon, the recoil blowing her back against Louis's blood soaked chest as it tore the ship free off it's restraints, before the whole world went white and blasted the ship even further.

The deafening blast boomed throughout Beacon, then traveled far enough to even reach the city from the edge of the wall to the other side.

The shockwave blasted the ship even further back, sending it spiraling out of control and the Grimm caught by the blast radius was either obliterated or blown off their feet and was sent flying, splattering into a mess guts and viscera on whatever they impacted with the velocity they were going at.

"Hang on!" Their pilot yelled over the other noises as he tried to regain altitude, the displays flaring red, a warning that they're losing altitude and fast.

The plane spun a few more times in the air, doing barrel rolls as it tried to stabilize itself before slowly, it came to a slow and gentle hover.

"Whew..." Their pilot muttered. "Maybe he's right, I'm getting a little too old for this..."

Weiss tore her rapier out of the cabin floor, and only then did Ruby noticed the only reason they were still alive from the gravity defying stunt was because of the black glyph Weiss had quickly dispatched with her quick reflexes, saving everybody.

"Is..." Kevin gulped.

"Did we..." Derrick stared at the wasteland left by the blast, nothing but churned ground and black ashes, with a glacier jutting out of the left, and rocks and electricity occasionally crackling to the right from the residue of Dust left by the Arena, but no signs of life remained.

"Holy shit." Adrian added as the group finally realized what they achieved, and started cheering.

"I can't believe it..." Qrow's eyes widened.

"Did... did I... did we do it?!" Ruby's smile almost split her face in two as the small reaper wrapped her arms onto the back of the lumbering armour's neck.

"We did it Lou- Evans. We did it! Thanks to you we defeated the dragon. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"**...**"

"Evans...?"

"**...**"

Ruby barely noticed, but she heard it, a small thud-thudding of something against glass.

"Shhh." She said, bursting everybody's mood immediately.

Weiss broke free of her hug with Winter, opening her mouth and made to complain, she paused, for she too heard it. A soft thudding and muffled but panicked yells.

It was coming from inside the plane.

Their heads turned to the source of the noise.

Evans slammed his fists against the glass cabinet, his knuckles bleeding as his eyes widened in epileptic shock and fear.

He profusely beat on the glass coffin.

"Save... Louis..." His muffled and muted screams tore from his throat as bruises started to appear on his body. "Louis...! Save... Louis...!"

Everybody's eyes slowly locked onto the armour's, where the visors were all but snuffed out.

They were tinted black.

"**Good... Job... Rubes...**"

He slumped forward.

The armoured suit crashed down with a loud clatter.

**A/N**

**You thought it was Evans, but it was me! Louis!**

**YEAH! Made it on time and finally finished before the new years! So glad I could make it throughout the Fall.**

**Half a year, almost 200 follows, 160 ish favs and over 50 K VIEWS!**

**Man this fic had come a long way. Let's hope for the best next year.**

**Well, for the aftermath, I think it's best I don't promise any dates. I don't want any chapters to feel rushed, but this fic should resume after the new years, could be before. Once again, no promises.**

**Thank you for all your support. If you could think of any loose ends I might've missed, please be sure to review that, for I'll be doing my best to tie as much as I can in the aftermath chapters.**

**Other than that, a Merry X mas and a Happy New Years to y'all!**

**Reviewer Session**

**DankAnon: Well Qrow was never the type to be subtle to people. Always delivers the truth like a speeding truck while others want their kids to enjoy.**

**paradox0.5white: Well thank you for reading my chapters, always glad to see that you enjoy them!**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N**

**What's this? A chapter pre New Year's? What's the occasion?**

**It's Evans's bday! Let's wish him a great one!**

_"Uncle Qrow! Let... me... GO!"_

_That's..._

_"Shit! Don't do this to us now Lou, not when we just got you back!"_

_"Adrian!" _A voice roared_. "Painkillers! Now!"_

_"Louis... Lou... is!_

A hoarse snarl interupted his thoughts, and drowned out the multitude of voices which mixed in together.

**"Hm."** A low voice growled in an almost mocking tone. ** "Weak vessel."**

_"What the hell happened?!" Someone asked.._

_"He tore off the only life support he had, to save us." What sounded like Evans hissed through the pain. "That StarDust in his chest was the only thing keeping him alive."_

_"WHAT?!" The shrill voice of... Ruby? Shrieked, as what I could imagine as bitter tears stung the edge of her eyes. "NO! Lou...is!"_

**"Foolish."**

The last thing I heard was Ruby's panicked screams echoed by Weiss as I felt something tear free from my spine.

...

And the rest...

Was silence.

_Shift_

_"Almost a week has passed since the Terror on Beacon had ensued." The woman with neatly trimmed bright purple shade of hair on screen reported as she looked grimly towards the camera, straightening the papers by tapping them on the table. "Although the larger part of the campus is damaged, it's safe to say that the majority of the threat, that is to say, Grimm, has been in fact, neutralized."_

_"In the midst of the destruction from an unforetold amount of Grimm, the students of Beacon and other schools had bravely stood their grounds in an attempt to reclaim their academy. To our surprise, they actually managed to weather the storm for strenuous hours of fighting without end, and managed to push the Grimm back despite the odds being against them despite being mere students of adolescent age._

_ Just as they were on the verge of purging the Grimm and victory seemed likely, the fate of Beacon was sealed once more as a more ancient and prehistoric Grimm swooped in, seemingly originating from the point of Mount Glenn according to our statistics of tremors occurring just minutes before."_

_"All Pro Hunstman had denied the fact that they've even seen a Grimm of this size, let alone face it in battle. Each and every student was then immediately evacuated with their safety in mind, with some already having lost their lives among the horde of Grimm at that point, emitting more negativity to attract an ungodly amount. Let us have a brief moment of silence, to appreciate the fallen who had fought valiantly for Beacon Academy."_

_..._

_..._

_"However... Right as all hope was lost," She gestured towards the rectangular box towards her left. It flickered to show unnatural dust clouds rolling into the walls of the city, but in it's epicenter, was a figure as black as night. "An anonymous being seemed to make it's presence known. An ally to the prehistoric Grimm perhaps? It's form seems to be lupine, but is a far cry away from an Alpha Beowolf which speed is lackluster compared to this... thing..."_

_"This video footage was taken just an hour or so prior to the mass detonation that eradicated the Grimm in the area. It shows us where," The recording paused to zoom at a blur of black and red. "In fact, someone or something, came charging in in the midst of the melee, right as the students were just about done being evacuated. Did it wait for the students to get out on purpose?"_

_The edge of her lips tugged up into a small smirk. "Who is this figure? Is he man or is he Grimm? Authorities have this to say..."_

_"I don't know ma'am." A fully suited Atlesian officer said in a flat tone as a mic was shoved in his face. "Whoever or whatever it is, it looked like it almost razed Beacon to the ground."_

_"I don't know. Black and red looks like one of those monsters to me." A man with a mowhawk and a ring around his nose spat as he shoved himself into frame. "And you know how they are when they're hungry. Seems to me like he just saved our asses so that we could come close enough to trusting it, to worship it and eventually, praise it. When the time comes... BAM!" He slammed a fist against his palm. "We're toast."_

_"Whatever it is out there, he saved my Li'l Cardin..." A worn looking woman with oaken hair said with tear stained cheeks as she dragged her son in frame. "The rest of his team are still missing till this day, fighting in honor of protecting their school, and one even turned against the side of good at the Amity Arena from all the pressure the teachers had given. Misguided, perhaps. But not my boy. My Cardin is strong enough to handle oncoming Grimm twice his size. But to wish upon him ever encountering that thing?" She shook her head. "I would rather he retire permanently."_

_"Moooom!" Cardin groaned._

_"Grimm or no Grimm it still doesn't change the fact that it had almost destroyed Beacon in the process achieving it's means, whatever it may be." The unmistakable chiseled face of Ironwood said flatly. "I've had my fair share of experience to say that it isn't a Grimm, but with the quality the shot is taken one can never be so sure." He looked straight into the camera. "If that is in fact, a new species of Grimm, and is capable of such destructive capabilities, then we, that is to say, Atlas, will act upon it immediately to counter this new threat."_

_"Can you tell us your thoughts on whether the people should cower in fear at the sight of these things appearing more frequently or in more numbers than one?"_

_"I am certain Atlas's technological advances are capable of surpassing this so called 'Savior' as people are calling it, to belong in the junkyard." He growled as he clenched his fist. "The people of Vale have nothing to worry about. Our enemies will feel our strength."_

_"And should the people of Vale fear that instead?" Lisa raised her brow. "Just as how Atlas's 'technological advances' had turned against us in the heat of the battle, what's to say an army of these wouldn't?"  
_

_Ironwood's frown was telling as he stormed away and climbed the steps to his ship._

_"Hey wai- General Ironwood-!"_

_"That's all the time the General has for today ma'am." Two Atlesian guards stepped between her and the cameraman, closing like gates as the hatch to the airship hissed closed. _

_"So it would seem." She said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head in disappointment. "This is Lisa Lavender, signing out."_

_Shift_

Winter held a hand to Weiss's shoulder and squeezed it lightly, with Weiss wrapping her fingers around it and leaning her head in return.

She couldn't help but just stare at the edge of the sun barely touching the horizon, not really wanting to speak but taking in any comfort in what her peers could provide her with.

After a few minutes of continuous silence, she croaked weakly.

"Is he..."

"Still unconscious." Winter sighed. "His heart rate is stable and his vitals are somewhat... intact, so take pride in that."

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Did I really make the correct choice Winter?" Weiss's eyes somehow found the courage to meet Winter's once more. "Did I actually save him...?" Weiss shuddered through the fear that was visible in her eyes. "Or did I just delay the inevitable?"

Winter scowled at that. This was exactly why she didn't want Weiss to be the one to subdue him, despite owing her- their, lives.

But as Evans had pointed out at the time, they weren't really in the position to bargain.

Ruby was, at the time, in shambles and on the verge or already is, in a mental breakdown. Yang was unconscious and lightly wounded, and so was Blake, having passed out from the loud noise.

Qrow had to cover the small reaper's eyes when the iron coffin opened up, even having Winter do the same to Weiss in trying to shield her eyes with her own body.

It was... gruesome to say the least, and the sounds made when extracting the spikes didn't exactly mitigate the mental image it was conjuring up in everybody's minds.

Yang and Blake were spared that, for all the good it did, for they saw the aftermath after they regained consciousness.

...

"Another world." Winter dwelled on instead as a desperate attempt to change the topic. "Who would have ever guessed?"

"I know right." Weiss scoffed as her lips tugged into a small smile.

"Had they ever told you of it?" Winter asked with a genuinely curious brow raised. "Of how it was like?"

"They just told me it was mundane and dull compared to this one."

"A world filled with the creatures of darkness doesn't really sound enticing for a billboard sign or a tagline on a brochure."

"I don't get what they saw in Remenant either as to come here of all places." Weiss giggled, closing her eyes as she leaned on her sister's palm. "But I'm glad they did. I must be grateful to them for helping us get so far." She sighed as her fingers curled up into fists, nails digging into her palms. "This isn't their war to fight, after all."

"I wouldn't put it past them to say something like that as well, but you're gonna have to wait for the full explanation." Winter smirked. "They did mention that they wouldn't reveal anything without their leader waking up."

"Leader?" Weiss raised a brow. "You're getting a little bureaucratic don't you think? They're friends. They don't seem to have the connotation that someone should be in charge, and even then, that's just a title, nothing more. They just do whatever they must."

"Hm? Perhaps." Winter admitted with a sigh. "Life in the Atlas Military hasn't been kind, after all."

"Precisely the reason why I left."

"Precisely the reason why I supported you."

Both sisters took one look at each other, then roared elegantly with laughter, stifling their giggles as tears flowed out of their eyes, with Winter, so usually in posture, having bent over a little to clutch her stomach.

Winter's lips tugged into a grin at the fact that she had made Weiss smile, if only for a brief moment.

That didn't last long.

"It's time..."

"Already?' Weiss's smile died and a stern and spiteful frown replaced it, pale blue eyes locking to the ground. "So soon...?"

"I don't agree with it either, but father's orders were clear, and he would like to see you as soon as possible in the Schnee manor, where it's safe and sound."

"But I'm safe and sound here!" She retailated.

"I know." Winter smiled bitterly as she stared at her sister. "I tried to inform him of your... pristine condition, but he wouldn't have any of it. He wants to see it with his own eyes that you are... untouched."

"You out of all people know that's a bunch of nonsense."

"I do." Winter admitted as she closed her eyes, forlorn and disdain visible in her expression with a tinge of regret. "But father's words are absolute. You know how it is."

...

...

...

"Can I at least wait until he's woken up?" Weiss pleaded as she stared into Winter's eyes. "It would at least enable me to sleep at night with ease, knowing my efforts are not all for naught."

Despite knowing that he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon,

Or, at all for that matter...

Winter looked out the window longingly, and after a moment of thought, nodded slowly. "Your flight tonight is at 8 p.m sharp. Don't be late."

"Thank you, Winter..." Weiss sighed as her heels clicked away.

_Shift_

"-still can't believe that he didn't tell us anything."

"Yang... He'll tell us why once he wakes up, I'm sure of it."

"And what if he doesn't Rubes?"

"You don't know that! Don't say that!"

"Will you be able to look at the other guys straight in the eye knowing he died saving us? Hah." The blonde brawler scoffed. "They've been ignoring us ever since the Emerald Forest got destroyed. And don't tell me that's because they're just waiting for him to wake up and trying to avoid the responsibility of keeping watch. Deep inside they despise us because _we_ were the ones that caused this. Because _we_ weren't strong enough to defend for ourselves despite already knowing Beacon was gonna fall!"

"That's..."

"If they left us for dead, Beacon would fall. They'd chose the better of the two alternatives and warned us, and yet we still failed!"

The door clicked shut.

"Weiss." Yang said flatly without turning around, tone devoid from all emotion but rage that kept bubbling from under her skin, causing her eyes to flicker spasmodically between lilac and crimson that was sure to give someone epilepsy. "I didn't see you there."

"Your eyes are placed in front of your head, not behind it. Of course you wouldn't see me." Weiss scoffed back as the heiress took a seat beside the brawler. "How is he?" She asked for what had to be the tenth time today.

"Same old." Yang gnarled as her eyes roved on Louis's punctured body. "Being bona fide lazy and not waking up."

"Is it really my fault...?"

It was but a soft and muffled whisper with Ruby trying to drown her tears into the sheets on the end of the bed, yet they all heard it.

"Our fault Rubes, not yours." Yang whispered an apology towards her sister as she put a hand on top of a sobbing Ruby, who nodded and placed her own on Louis's chest.

The monitor beeped away.

...

...

"Do you really think that's what he would've wanted?" Weiss asked.

Yang turned to face the white haired girl while Ruby looked up with red rimmed eyes that had bags under them, having not much sleep since the assault on Beacon.

"What do you mean?" Yang questioned with a raised brow.

"They saved us. He saved us. Despite the fact that we despised him, hated him for keeping a secret from us at his final moments, we never really heard him out as to why he did it, did we?" Weiss scowled at herself. "We never sorted our problems out before he decided to pull off this whole... fiasco of a plan."

"Yet he still saved us. Made sure we made it out alive and in one piece. Did he know he was about to die? Will he ever rest peacefully, or will he be regretting in the afterlife, never having made up with us? Or did he trust us to swallow it down and push it past us, leaving it behind?"

"Weiss..." Yang drew her in for a warm embrace as the heiress made her way to the other side of the bed. "Louis is... He wouldn't want us to part like this. He wouldn't want us to part at all. If I'd knew he was saying goodbye, I would've let you encase him in a block of ice."

"Yeah." Weiss scoffed with a smirk. "As if that's gonna stop him..."

"Probably have Nora break his legs too."

"That didn't stop him from fighting a whole army of Grimm alone. An impressive feat, might I add."

"It's the stupid armour..." Yang hissed. "We could've done this together yet because he tried to do this alone he went into that suicidal armour..."

"...shouldn't have let him join..."

"Hm?" Both Yang and Weiss asked in unison as both turned their heads to face Ruby. "What was that?"

"I shouldn't have ever let him join the Vytal Tournament. It's because of me he's in this state..."

"Rubes..." Yang sighed as she stood up to settle beside her sister, drawing her in for a warm hug. "We've been through you already, this isn't your fault."

"Then whose was it Yang?" Ruby's voice came out shrilled, raspy and wet from the phlegm accumulating in her throat "I was the decision maker. I was the final nail in the coffin. I was the leader! And I let him walk into his death, just like that."

...

"You know what, that's enough."

"Weiss?" Yang asked with a raised brow as Weiss got up to wrap her arms on Ruby's shoulder, pulling her up.

"What are you-"

"It's been over a week and you look like garbage, smell it too. Grab a shower, and we'll go talk."

"We already are...?" Yang shot her a confused look.

"Not between us you dolt!"

"Then to who?" Ruby sniffled.

"To Louis's friends."

"What?!" Yang shrieked. "Didn't you hear what I just said? They _hate_ us!"

"What're they gonna do, assault us?" Weiss mocked. "They don't have aura, let alone have weapons of their own, bar Evans, who isn't in any condition to fight." She snorted. "What is he gonna do? Shoot bullets out of his crutches that is also a gun?"

"She... has a point."

"Blake. You're awake?" Ruby mumbled, using the back of her hand to wipe her tear stains.

"With all the shouting and screaming, it's definitely a soothing lullaby to behold." Blake muttered sarcastically, causing Yang to go up and help puff up a pillow behind her back as she leaned back. "Thanks."

"I think it might be a good idea." She continued. "To go and talk to them. You've been cooped up in this room for far too long and honestly." Blake looked longingly towards Louis's bed beside hers. "Until he wakes up, there's nothing we can do about it."

"If he even wakes up."

"Until he wakes up." Blake repeated with a hiss as she stared her partner down. "You'll have your explanation as to why. Just be patient about it."

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

"You can't talk to them. You're still to weak to stand let alone, walk."

"That's why I'll be staying here, reading my book."

Yang sighed.

"Is this really the time to be reading your porn?"

"It's not all smut." Blake sighed in a slightly annoyed tone. She'd figured she'd get used to the blonde brawler's antics by now. "But someone has to stay in case he wakes up." She said, flipping to the middle of her book.

All 3 exchanged glances, knowing that once Blake is in the middle of reading. Nothing could stop her.

Nothing.

"Okay, but you're gonna miss out on all the fun." Yang teased, finally calming down enough to stay lilac for more then a minute.

"Don't worry, I'm fine and comfortable over here."

"Oh so _that's_ your plan." Yang winked suggestively. "Wait for him to wake up before you tell him you're uncapable of taking your clothes off on your own, then you lock your legs around him and-"

Yang dodged the book aimed directly at her face.

"Feisty~"

"Let's go." Weiss dragged Yang out before a full fledged argument would ensue.

"Thanks." Blake seethed with flushed cheeks as Ruby placed her book in her hands, clasping shaky fingers around them.

"No problemo." Ruby's lips tugged at the edges, despite her cute face ruined with the tear stains and nearly bloodshot eyes. "Hey Blake..."

"Hm?"

"Do you think they're gonna hate us?" She asked nervously as she twiddled with her thumbs. "I know Yang said they are but... what do you think?"

...

"If they are, Louis would never forgive them for it." Blake snorted. "He'll come to our rescue, as always."

"Snnrrrrk... I guess you're right." Ruby chortled with a small sniffle. "Don't know what I'm getting so worked up about." She took one last glance at her only male teammate, instantly killing her lopsided grin. "Why'd you think he did it?"

"Beats me..." Blake echoed Ruby's actions as her eyes roved unconsciously to Louis. "But maybe he's trying to make it up to us for lying."

"Maybe..."

"Go now. You don't want to keep your sister waiting." Blake smiled as she gently nudged her arm.

"You're right!" Ruby wiped her face with the back of her hand again as she zipped out of the room. "Thanks Blake!"

The door slammed shut.

...

...

"I could hear you by the window sill y'know." Blake called out.

"Guilty as charged."

A shadowy figure climbed into the open window, a woman with copper skin and now dressed in her regular outfit rather than in bandages. The only thing that changed from her natural features was that her eyes glowed blue instead of yellow.

"Since when were you so on edge?"

"Ever since you took my bow away from me." The cat faunus chuckled mirthfully as she remembered the times. "So, any reason as to why you're hiding until they'd left?"

"You're asking me that?" Amber gestured towards herself with a cocky smirk. "I'd thought you'd have known your partner like the back of your hand by now."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here." Her eyes narrowed as Amber took a seat beside her.

"As you pointed out, you're bedridden and as Weiss pointed out, I'm nothing without White Knuckle Ride. Unless..." Amber rolled her eyes. "I use my crutches which is also a gun."

She leant in as she settled beside Blake to whisper into her ears. "It secretly is. But don't tell her that. Don't want her to have her guard up."

"Your secret is safe with me, but if you think of hurting her you're dead." She crossed her heart. "So, why do you need to be here with me? Unless you're banking in on servicing me, which I can tell you right now, is not needed."

"What do I look like to you? Derrick? Dwiki?" Amber deadpanned. "You give me way too little credit. If Louis can control his hormones for staying with 4 lovely women for over a year then so can I. Besides, I already managed to und-"

"Und..?"

"Uuuunite the team!" She corrected quickly. "I'm here to talk. And since you aren't able to do so with the others to approach the 'others'," He quoted the air. "I'm here because it looks like you needed to sate your curiosity."

"Who said I'm curious?" She crossed her arms. "And just what exactly would I be curious about?"

"Please," Amber rolled her eyes. "You're not even reading that." She pointed at the book. "Everytime they go out to get food, you secretly put the book down and look towards Louis and bite your lips which," She added quickly as she held up both hands while Blake's eyes narrowed into stilts. "I have no qualms about, but even without Trypophobia I don't think those holes are the battle scars you chicks dig, so I doubt you're hot and bothered at a time like this."

Blake pinched her nose ridge as heat crept up her neck while her cheeks flushed with specs of pink.

"How long have you been spying on me?"

"Almost everyday." She admitted carefreely as she propped one leg atop the other, getting Blake to look dumbfounded. "It wasn't on you intentionally, just needed to check on Louis personally. Knowing you guys won't leave his side however..."

"You decided that eavesdropping until the time was right was the second best option."

"You were muttering questions he couldn't answer. Yet." She added when Blake opened her mouth. "But I think I might of assistance there."

"Looks like I wasn't the only one who became more perceptive over my time here at Beacon." She sighed.

"So," Amber linked her arms behind her neck as as she leaned back on her seat, looking at the ceiling. "We've got plenty of time and privacy isn't an issue anymore. If you're gonna say or ask something... now would be the time."

"Off the records?" She muttered as she slammed the book shut and set it down beside her bed.

"What happens in this room stays in this room."

_Shift_

"Hey there... Guys." Ruby muttered nervously and timidly as she popped her head above her sister's shoulders, who was lumbering forwards to the group of men working on a contraption that was too small to be a vehicle, with Weiss at their side.

Their eyes roved towards the ladder leading to a temporary makeshift balcony above, steel works making up the foundation of a steady frame while the floor itself is less then a foot of solid metal.

The sounds of construction stopped.

The purple hooded man turned around at the sound of interruption, removing his now different mask which had a long beak to it with dark purple visors, along with two portly man, one taller than the other.

"Is it finally my time to-"

"Not now Dwiki." Kevin hissed as he broke through the small group, grabbing the edge of the ladder and leaping halfway down while breaking his fall with a crouch. He patted his hands together to wipe off any grime and dust, then used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Not to sound rude but we're a little tied up at the moment, so what do you need?"

"We... just wanted to talk." Weiss admitted.

"What about?"

Adrian popped his head from behind said contraption as he lifted his wielding mask, regulating the flow of gas on his blowtorch.

"How do we put this..." Yang tried to find the correct words as she spun her hand around. "We uh..."

...

"Look, Blossom Bubbles and Buttercup." Kevin addressed as he stared at Weiss, then moved on to Ruby and finally Yang. "We don't really need a distraction right now, so if you could hurry it up-"

"We just wanted to get a few things off our chest. It'll make us rest easier. Help 3 lovely girls out... please?" Yang asked as she stretched her arms behind her back, letting her top slide down a little further to expose the crack between her ample bosom.

"I... can do that." Dwiki reached out.

_SMACK_

For once it was delivered by Adrian.

"Owww... why me?"

"Do you want to get killed?" Kevin sighed from below. "Didn't Evans and Louis mention something... I don't know," He rotated his wrist and rolled his eyes. "Similar," He settled on. "Happening at the Yellow Trailer?"

"Ughhh... And why were you the one to hit me?!" He glared at Adrian with all the anger he could muster, which ended up making him look constipated.

"You were about to launch yourself to her."

"So?"

"You were about to break the bro code." Adrian shrugged. "No stealing Louis's girls."

"We're not-"

"Trust me." Kevin whispered as they huddled together. "It's for the best."

Dwiki sulked as he rubbed the back of his head, but remained silent.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Kevin growled suspiciously as he drew back. "What changed."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She smirked slyly.

"You may have them on the end of the hook Goldilocks, but I'm not as easy to manipulate as you might think." Kevin hissed under his breath as he wrapped his fingers on one of the steps. "So spill it, before I lose my patience and decide to go back up there and resume my work."

...

"Okay..." Ruby took a deep breath as she finally found the courage to step out of her sister's well built cover. "Here goes nothing..."

Kevin raised a brow and crossed his arms.

"What is Louis to you?"

_Shift_

"That's surprising." Amber stroked her chin. "That's what got all of you so worked up?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you." Her eyes roved to the punctured body of the man recovering next to her. "For the past year we've known him, fought with him, bled together, and ventured with, we still feel like he's a misplaced stranger to us."

"Obviously, we're not from-"

"This world, I get it." Blake sighed as she pinched her nose ridge. "But that's besides the point."

"Hmm..."

"Point is, even though we've gone through all those things... and he'd tried to open up to us, did open up to us." She corrected. "With even two of us having fallen in love with him-"

"I'm surprised you're admitting it so openly."

"You'd better honour your promise to keep this behind closed doors." Blake muttered as her cheeks blushed while she became self aware as to what she just blurted. "Otherwise I'm gonna hunt you down."

"Duly noted." Amber chuckled with her expression nothing short of bemused. "Proceed."

"Even after all those things, he still doesn't trust us with this plan, even if it's a major one." She slammed a curled up fist on the sheets, and even with a muffled thump it almost caused Amber to topple over.

"Why?" She asked as angry tears stung the edge of her eyes, threatening to spill out. "If he'd had trust us, even just a little... This wouldn't have happened. He would still be walking, alive and well. You guys would still have your stupid friend while we'll have our stupid teammate..."

"The alternative is much wo-"

"It's not fair!" She screamed. "Why?! Why him? Why does he have to be the one to risk everything in order for us to live?! Why does everybody around me just..."

She hugged her chest.

"Just wither and wilt away...?"

...

After what seemed like minutes, Evans finally spoke once the ragged pants transitioned to muffled sobs.

"You know that thing where... you use a certain word to describe someone?" Amber asked as she handed Blake a box of tissues, which the cat faunus gratefully accepted.

"What am I talking about, of course you do." She scoffed and swapped her legs to prop the latter up. "You were supposed to go back home... to Menagerie after this." She added when Blake managed to look confused despite the tears cascading down her cheeks. "You gave up on the pursuit of the White Fang and just wanted to go home. Sun trailed after you and then... You had this conversation."

"You thought Adam was Justice, then after being in a relationship with him, you figured he was Passion. Heh. Wonder how you figured that one out."

...

"Do you think... He'll..." Blake trailed off as her voice caught in her throat.

"Mind?" Amber finished with a scoff. "I thought you knew him well enough to the point where you'd have confessed feelings for him. If you're asking me that, then it seems to me that you obviously don't."

"It was a well known theory in the Rwby Fandom that you aren't a virgin. As to why? I can never tell. Maybe because, apologies in advance if I offend you, you and Adam Taurus were both faunus's that have a higher desire for lust? Or perhaps because he managed to convince you that he was all you needed."

"I can confirm it was the latter..."

"Good to know, but again, he, that is to say we." Amber pointed to Louis then herself. "Don't care."

Blake felt the edge of her lips tug into a smile.

"Even if you did let's say, bear his child or something, Louis, even as a friend, would help to look after it. Hell, I could be the Godfather!"

"I'll keep that in mind." She giggled lightly.

"Anyway, " Amber continued as Blake muttered her thanks. After all that crazy White Fang shennadigans you finally figured out he was Spite." Amber waited, and Blake gave a small nod as confirmation. "Well, similar to form, me and the bois have that too."

"Okay..." She sniffled. "But what does that have to do with him?"

"Well, the word that describes Me for instance." She lifted a palm to her chest. "Is Pride."

_Shift_

"Whenever Louis does something, especially something he is peculiarly fond about, he'll commit to it, not matter what."

"So, he's fond about protecting us. Cool." Yang let out her breath come out in an annoyed rasp as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's natural, given the camaraderie we built as a team over the year we've been togethe-"

"I wasn't through, boobzilla." Kevin cut off, getting Ruby to hold her sister back from punching the rotund man to orbit. "That motivation can only get one man so far. You commit to an act, but you are limited to what you can do as a man. A Hu man."

"And... Louis isn't a man?" Weiss raised a brow as she tucked her arms beneath her chest once Yang's rage died down.

"He is." Kevin answered. "But his grit is accompanied by something else. Something more... Sinister" He dwelled on. "That binds him, and even compels him to do it without any obstacles hindering him. It gets rid of everything. Memories of love, joy, his happiness, his friendships established. Everything." He repeated.

"But out of all that, it gets rid of one thing that holds us all back."

"And..." Weiss raised a brow, prompting him to continue. "That is...?"

"Fear."

"The black wolf..."

"Is that what you saw?" Kevin asked Ruby, getting her shoulders to tense. "Evans told me about it, but I just wasn't so sure."

"It was shadowy, and creepy, dark and even terrifying with those lightning shaped eyes. But unlike Grimm. It had a purpose."

"Wait wait wait." Yang waved her arms frantically in front of her. "Slow down sis. What exactly did you see?"

"Louis's pain and hatred, given form."

The trio turned to see the rest of the boys joining them, expression dead serious, and it took a while for them to register that it was Adrian who said it.

"You have this thing called Aura. A manifestation of one's soul." Kevin pointed out, getting 3 nods in return. "This his what his 'manifestation' took the form of."

"His Aura..." Weiss said slowly. "Took the form of a wolf?!"

"And it became sentient?!" Yang added.

"More like... a second personality." The rotund man said with a wave of his hand. "We don't really get it either, but to put it in simple terms, imagine having a split personality."

"We weren't sure what form it would take, or if it even existed at all, or if it was just an imaginary friend." Derrick said. "But we can confirm that it did exist _before_ he came to Remnant. We don't know as to what point in time it came to be. When we became close friends it just... Already was."

"How can you be so sure this... Persona." Weiss settled on as she didn't believe her own words. "Exist?"

"Ruby and Blake both can confirm that they've in fact, seen it with their own eyes." Adrian pointed out, while Ruby visible shivered, her breaths suddenly coming out hitched and high pitched as she tried to calm herself.

Yang raised a brow as she sent a glare Adrian's way, wrapping her sister up with a warm hug whole keeping her gaze locked to the tall man."

"I'm sure you've noticed his tendencies to have random outbursts out by now." Dwiki chimed in for once, grabbing everybody's attention. "Just like how Yang does it, but with her at least there's an indication. Her eyes will turn crimson."

Yang made a sound of understanding and gestured for them to continue.

"Louis... doesn't."

_Shift_

"Of course he doesn't." Blake scoffed as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "My eyes don't change colour when I'm mad, but at least you could see it clear in my face."

"Yeah but this is... different." Amber waved her wrist as she tried to conjure up the words. "How does one explain it."

Blake looked at the confused maiden trying to find the right words.

"Remember... that book you read, all the way back before Beacon's initiation?"

"I've read plent-"

"The Man with Two Souls."

That silenced the cat faunus.

"I'm probably the 'closer' person to Louis out of the rest of us." Amber ran a hand through her hair. "Obviously I wouldn't be saying it out of my ass for the sake of saying it."

"I met him at a young age. He was... not to say... weird." Amber dwelled on as she fought for the correct words. "But eccentric. That got him bullied time and time again. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, I had to move elsewhere, and thus was unable to back him up."

Amber growled under her breath, her tone tinted with a tinge of regret.

"And when we met back in college..."

"He changed." Blake looked away.

"Not to remind you too much of Adam, but yeah, he sorta did." Amber sighed. "He didn't really like to talk to people if he could help it. After all, the closer he gets to someone, the more of a chance they get of being hurt."

"It's a miracle he hadn't hurt any of you during one of these outbursts." Amber added when Blake raised a confused brow. "If I was in my real body now I would show you... but..."

"You were a victim?"

"Almost eviscerated me. Twice," Amber placed her hand on her naval, tracing it to the side. "Near misses, the wound wasn't deep and it barely broke skin, so I was fine. My mom was furious though." He chuckled as he recalled the memories, though Blake didn't see what was so funny.

"We could defend for ourselves if he loses control like that..."

"Can you really?" Amber asked sarcastically. "The last time he let the beast loose you were sent flying to the other side of Beacon."

"That's no excuse to not trust us." Blake averted.

"It isn't." Amber shook her head in agreement. "It's a poor, sorry excuse which I'm not trying to cover for for this once."

"So..."

"It may just be me reaching for something in the dark here, but judging by how he was speaking fondly of you all back on earth, maybe it's because he doesn't see you as just 'teammates'." Amber stroked her non existent facial hair.

"He... doesn't?" Blake looked puzzled. "Then what does he sees us as?"

"He sees you as..."

_Shift_

"...His heroes." Kevin finished.

**A/N**

**Once again, let's all wish Evans a great one! Thanks for sticking with me and reading my writings bro! This chap is out early for you!**

**Hope you readers had a great Christmas. And soon, a happy new year.**

**New chap should be 2 weeks from now, let's just say that aftermath is a mouthful.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**DankAnon : Don't think I'll be fusing anytime soon. Don't want him to get used to being inside of me.**

**Arclight001 : Why does everybody keep calling me that?!**

**RandomGuest : Noted. Probably fix it sometime soon.**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N**

**Wow this New Years kicked off with a bang.**

**That is to say... 6 foot flood in certain places. **

**Anyway, Happy New Years to all of you!**

"H-Heroes...?" Ruby's cheeks flared bright pink as her silver eyes shot towards the floor. Her voice was quiet and timid, coming out in a weak stutter. "Why would we be- W-What? How...? In what way? He's been saving us the whole time he's been here in Remnant. I-If anything, it should be the other way around!"

"In this case, your words speak true." Kevin chuckled mirthfully, not even trying to deny the small leader's more than flattered expression and returning it with a bemused one of his own. "But during the show, it's not._ We_ don't exist. He admired you lot, and not in the same way these boys had." Kevin deadpanned as he let his eyes fall towards Edgy and Clumsy D, who broke eye contact looking towards the ceiling and the ground respectively, and decided the best course of action to avoid attention was to whistle innocently.

"Does this have anything to do with that old saying?" Weiss put a finger to her cheek as she tried to recall the words. "Never meet your heroes because they're sure to disappoint if memory serves me right?"

"We... disappointed him?" The buxom blonde questioned with a baffled expression as she dramatically placed a hand on her chest. "You guys maybe,"

"Hey!"

"But the great Yang Xiao Long?." She waved her finger. "Nu uh, I don't think so."

"No no, nothing like that." Kevin waved off with a scoff. "Watching you all, I mean your show." He added when the girls grimaced at how that sounded. "Just happened to help him out at the hardest of times. He felt... lost at a point, without a purpose."

"But he looked fine to us." Ruby muttered quietly.

"Well you never asked him what his problems were, did you?" Kevin sighed as the girls broke eye contact, and looked away in shame. "Of course not, you're teenagers. Angsty, moody, edgy, hormonal, 'The world revolves around me' teenagers."

"I mean..." Ruby mumbled. "We would've listened if he'd just tell us..."

"And you're not?" Yang shot back.

"Nope. I'm 24."

The 3 girls balked at that, with Yang even looking him up and down before rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What?" The rotund man asked at their shocked expressions. "Why do you look so surprised? Did you really think Louis was your age?"

Their silence said it all.

"Oh boy, that's rich." Adrian tried to stifle a chuckle as he put a hand to his mouth. "He's 20, almost 21 if I recall."

...

"That's not too much of an age gap for Ruby and Blake but-"

"Yaaaaaang!" Ruby wailed as she blushed. It would've been cute, but it was ruined by her tear stains and red rimmed eyes, accompanied by dark tinted eyebags directly under it.

"But..." Yang continued nevertheless. "He doesn't look it. And neither do you."

"Probably followed the go back to being a teenager or the same age as the cast rule thing." Derrick shrugged nonchalantly. "Basically we all de-aged having adjusted to yours by this time frame. Physically speaking."

"Is that... even possible?" The heiress questioned with a raised brow.

"Hey, interdimensional travel just proved we aren't alone in the universe right? Why give a fuck about the laws now?" The rotund man let his shoulders rise and fall.

"True."

"So, what are his problems?" Yang asked.

"Hm?"

"You said we never asked what his problems were. So we're gonna assume you know well and good." Yang repeated in a tone that was half irritated, and half exhausted. "What exactly _are_ his problems? What could we do to help?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kevin asked, making the girls lean in with curiosity.

"He's out of commission."

The girls nearly tripped where they stood.

"Yeah, no shit jerkface!" Yang almost shouted as her eyes flashed crimson. "There's nothing we can do about that but wait now can we?"

"If you're asking us what his problems currently are, it's that he has a dual personality, and we couldn't tell who's in charge and when." Kevin admitted with a shrug, causing Yang's shoulders to slump. "Two, I wouldn't be telling you this if we couldn't do anything about it."

...

...

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Eh?" The girls asked in unison as they exchanged confused glances.

The boys's lips twisted into a smirk, Kevin almost cockily.

"I think it's about time sleeping beauty wakes up."

_Shift_

"Meeting with you guys in person supposedly filled his dark soul with LIIIIIIGHT!"

"Your voice cracked at the end there." Blake pointed out as she raised a brow, shoving a glass of water towards the maiden. "Also, is it just me, or is that last part echoing around the room somehow?" She looked around the room suspiciously.

"Sorry bout that." Amber coughed into her fist as she regained composure from what must've looked like a crazed moment for Blake. "Had to do it. Anywho, the point remains that you guys helped him, indirectly, and I guess this is just his way of paying back his debts. Then again I could be wrong, and he has his own reason for doing this unknown to even us."

"But we never asked for this."

"And you think we did?" Amber chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Also, knowing Louis you think he would've just sit still and watch his heroes splinter and fall?" Amber sighed, leaning back on her chair. "It would've been some good character development, but even I don't think the costs should've been that extreme. You're all not ready for this."

"And _he _thinks_ he_ is?" Blake almost yelled.

"Maybe not." Amber admitted, causing Blake's shoulders to relax at the fact that at least someone sharing her agreement. "Maybe we're just being as foolish as you lot are, thinking we can take on the world who's lore we know well ourselves. Maybe we're dancing with the devil while playing with fire by trying to change things for the better. Hell, I'm about to even meet one face to face, that's certainly not something I would ever expect in this life or the next." She shuddered, and Blake could see uncertainty in her eyes, along with a tinge of fear.

"Cinder..." Blake growled.

"You don't know the half of it." Amber's pitiful eyes met hers as she continued. "But quite honestly, if we were teleported towards the outskirts of Vale when this all started, and I could've convinced Louis to stay put and settle down, we would've."

"Don't get me wrong." Amber put up both hands as Blake's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Knowing how this world works, we would've been dragged into it or affected by it either way. But would you not have wished the same as I, seeing his condition now?"

The way Blake's regretful eyes glanced towards the ground says it all.

"He... never told us about it." She managed to croak out.

"Hm?"

"His inner demons." Blake fleshed out as she glanced towards the man in question. "His problems."

"Obviously not. You guys have your own problems to deal with which he would rather not further burden with his own."

"Sounds like him to do that." The edges of Blake's lips tugged into a fragile smile as she imagined those exact words coming out of his mouth.

"Right?" Amber sniggered back as she looked towards the ceiling. "We've altered the show enough times to have completely changed the timeline. In all honesty, we're not sure how far off from canon we are."

"Canon... like those things ships are equipped with to shoot cannonballs out of?"

"It's a term we use to differentiate what's legit and what's not. Basically, we've screwed with it so much we're not sure how or what's gonna happen after this." Amber sighed. "But one thing is for sure."

"And that's...?"

"The moment he wakes up." Amber's eyes roved towards Louis. "He's gonna leave us, and this time, on his own accord."

"What?!" Blake shrieked, and held her side almost immediately. "Why would he?!"

"You saw what that thing is capable of." Amber pointed towards her thigh, and even if it was covered beneath white sheets, the implication made the cat faunus squirm uneasily. "And the potential harm he'll bring. He believes that even if he breaks off to do his own thing, one day, with the same goals, our paths would cross, and by that time, hopefully, your bonds stronger."

Blake's mouth open and closed, but no words came out. "T-thats... "

"With that thing now fully awakened he won't dare come near you," Amber cut off before she could make a decent sentence. "And will choose to isolate himself in solitude if it means you lot are safe. So I'd say make whatever you will of your time left together, but make it count."

"We could fix that!" Blake insisted with a hiss. "Together! As a team. Like we always had. Was this last year seriously just his way to pass time?!"

Amber's seat scraped back as she got up.

"I hope he sees things the same way that we do." Amber sighed, took one glance at the distraught cat faunus, and shook her head. "I really do, for the sake of both our parties."

She stared at the door. "It was fun conversation while it lasted Blake. Looks like our time is up."

The door slammed open.

"Friends!"

"Hey Penny." Amber smiled bitterly, knowing what's coming next. "Good news?"

"Good? I bring excellent news Friend Evans! The people of Earth have finished their preparations for Aura Transfusion."

"Aura Trans...fusion?" The cat faunus exchanged glances between the ginger haired girl and the copper skinned woman rubbing the scar across her face.

"I'm surprised they didn't procrastinate further." The maiden admitted. "Thought they'd be finished by next week."

"Every passing second is one Louis won't experience."

"Kev." She greeted with a nod as the rotund man appeared in the doorway, the rest of the group pouring into the room from behind him. "Did you fill them in?"

"I thought you wanted to round them up first?" He asked with a raised brow. "So that we don't have to explain twice?"

"Right..." Amber muttered as almost every other member in team RWBY except Blake had tensed or flinched at the sight of her, Yang lilac eyes escpecially, narrowing and eyeing her warily, flashing crimson a few times while the blonde brawler grated her teeth.

Amber motioned for everybody to sit down, and after a moment of intense glaring that could have turned into a stare down which she doesn't seem to mind or had already expected, they eventually settled down, though their shoulders remained stiff.

"So uhh, where to we start?" Amber asked as she ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry we haven't checked in on a while, we've been busy preparing."

"Preparing...?" Yang looked at Weiss, who looked just as dumbfounded. "Preparing for what?"

"Let's be honest, you're not the only one who wants to see Louis open his eyes." Kevin pointed out. "We may have found a way to... how do we say it," Kevin rotated his wrist in the air as he tried to find the correct words. "Speed his recovery up."

...

"Wait."

"Hm?"

"So this whole time, you've been ignoring us..." Yang started with a puzzled expression. "Was because...?"

Kevin looked at Amber, who looked back just as confused.

It was she who answered.

"We know you guys were pissed at us for 'killing' off your teammate, your friend, so we figured we'd leave you alone with him to cool your heads."

"You are moody teens after all." Kevin said. "You need to clear your head before you can think logically, which, given the situation, is almost impossible."

"So instead of making the approach, we stepped back and waited for you guys to approach us." Amber explained. "And right on time too, otherwise we're not sure if we could postpone our meeting any further."

Weiss blinked owlishly, echoed by Ruby, Blake and eventually, Yang.

"What did you think we left you for?" Amber questioned with a raised brow. "The rest of the boys hadn't even unlocked their Auras yet, you could possibly kill them with one misplaced punch or jab. And knowing Yang..."

"I can totally see that happening." Blake deadpanned.

"Blake! I thought you were on my side!"

"And we thought you lot were the ones mad at us for letting Louis sacrifice himself for our sakes." Weiss muttered under her breath. "If it weren't for us, he wouldn't be in this comatose state."

Amber blinked, mirrored by Kevin.

...

...

"Oh boy." The maiden smothered a laugh as she scratched his hair. "Am I glad Louis isn't awake to see this. He would laugh his ass off."

"Wait..." Ruby muttered with a voice as fragile as glass. "You're all... not mad?"

"Furious." Amber rolled his eyes. "But not at you."

"Why would we be angry at you?" Kevin asked with a raised brow. "You weren't responsible at his state. Louis decided that he _wanted_ to do this. It was his choice and his plan to decide that he wanted to protect you. All of you." He added as his eyes met everybody in the room. "If even _we_ can't persuade him to do otherwise, no one can."

"So you guys aren't mad at us either?" Amber scanned the faces of Team RWBY to see honest disapproval.

"Why would we be?" The heiress asked. "You explained to us that Louis died in that Arena for a reason. A reason you aren't willing to explain until he wakes up." Weiss gave an exasperated sigh. "I still don't get why that's a thing, but nevertheless, we also want to hear it come out from his mouth."

"And if he doesn't," Yang added. "We'll have Nora break his legs!"

Blake raised a curious brow.

"Nope." Ruby popped. "Not happening." Ruby stated.

"So... the reason you were ignoring us this entire time... was because..."

"Well _he who desires but acts not breeds pestilence_ after all." Amber quoted. "So it is written. We can't just stand by and wait things out."

"So we-"

"_You_ were playing with your scroll the entire time!" Adrian shouted.

"_Dwiki is dumb as hell_, so it is written as well." Amber deadpanned.

"Where?" Dwiki challenged.

"In group chat."

Dwiki sulked. "Haaaargh... Why me?"

"So instead of sulking and brooding like you lot, I was joking." Kevin held out both hands when he was met with 4 pairs of eyes with dangerous glares. "We _may_ have come up with a way that might help Louis return to the land of the living."

"I sense a but coming." Yang said.

"But-"

"Ap, there it is."

"But," Amber resumed nevertheless. "It's... risky." She admitted with a sigh as his eyes darted to both Ruby and Blake.

When no hands were raised to question their statement and everyone in the room remained silent, she took it as a signal to continue.

"We're not going to be Ozpin here." The maiden said honestly as he raised both hands. "This is all going to be your choice, and you won't be pressured into doing it-"

"Unless you put feelings into it, to which then, we can't really do anything about it."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious Kevin." Amber deadpanned as Blake and Ruby looked the other way.

"Just a disclaimer." Kevin shrugged.

"What do they look like to you? Customer's looking to claim their warranty?" She somehow managed to deadpan further.

"If you remembered correctly, the machine that was supposed to transfer the maiden's powers into Pyrrha transfers her Aura, the catalyst of a person's life." The portly man started explaining. "This is similar, but we modified it."

"Go on." Weiss gestured, genuinely interested.

"Instead of it being a one way street and draining, thus effectively ending the life of one to be transferred to the other, the machine now opens a channel so that Aura will flow freely. To put it simply, imagine two batteries." His fingers hovered in the air to mimic an electrical circuit. "Instead of draining a battery to power a light bulb, you have two batteries. If you put both negative to both positive ends, you get a free flowing circuit that channels electricity through them, like an infinite feedback loop, charging each other endlessly, thus keeping both people alive."

"Unfortunately..." Amber scowled as she stared at the unconscious patient. "We don't have 2 live batteries. We have a dead one, Aura wise."

"Let me guess, Louis is the dead battery." The heiress stated.

"Bingo." Amber pointed at her direction. "Basically we're going to be draining one of your Aura's, and putting it into Louis, while at the same time, absorbing some of Louis's 'Bad' Aura into one of you."

"So... why is this risky?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"Our Aura will always regenerate as long as we get enough rest." Weiss said as she put a hand to her chin. "Which, we've all gotten at this point, so even if our Aura gets drained we'll manage to recover it given time. I personally don't see an issue."

Amber stared at Kevin as they engaged in the silent conversation as to who would draw the short end of the stick.

"This has never been done or tested before," It was the brown haired woman who explained. "So honestly we wouldn't know if there are any side effects, fallouts or whatnot." She admitted as she looked at the ground. "The donor could gain his wounds, his personality or traits, his inner demon," Everybody flinched. "Or worst case scenario, join him and be put in the same state he is in right now without a chance of ever waking up." The maiden scanned the horrified expressions worn on each face. Each point she made just seemed to kill their self-esteem even further.

"Yeah... figures." Kevin scratched his cheek. "We don't have Aura in our world, and barely have the time to understand or dissect it, so we did our best to follow Professor Pietro's guidance. Still, even _he_ of all people won't guarantee the success of his own work, and he's the best of the best in his field."

"Knowing Louis, he would never have approved of this, and would've used ourselves as guinea pigs to test this shit out," Amber admitted with a sigh. "But the boys haven't unlocked their Aura's as of now, and doing so right now would have the opposite effect of what we're trying to achieve. I personally would donate my own, but..."

"Your body is too weak for it." Yang snarled.

"And Amber's might screw it up because she has the maiden's powers." Weiss's eyes widened. "It could fail or cause the machine to malfunction and halt immediately."

...

"You have time." Kevin said as he glanced at the clock which states the current time is just about noon. "We'll leave, so you'll have the room to yourselves." He said as the boys, along with Amber, made their way out, wheeling Louis's body with them. "Don't rush the decision, this is crucial."

"Just don't take too long." Amber muttered from outside the room.

The door clicked shut.

_Shift_

...

The silence was deafening.

The girls exchanged nervous glances between each other and the ground as they considered who would do it.

This was the moment they'd all been waiting for... right?

A chance to revive their teammate.

Why were they hesitating?

...

...

After a while of staring at either the ground or each other, one spoke up.

"I'll do it."

"Wha-" Weiss asked.

"Ruby?!"

"Yang he saved us." Ruby sighed as she rested her hand on his forehead, running it down to touch his cheek. "All of us. It's the least we can do."

"Then at least let me d-"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because if this backfires..." Ruby smiled weakly. "I don't want to lose you too."

"And you're fine with me and dad losing YOU?!" Yang's chair barreled to the other side of the room as she shot up. "You're not the only one who owes him Ruby! Don't be stupid!"

"I didn't say that!" She screamed back, matching the blond brawler's volume as she tiptoed to meet her level. "The whole team owes him! I'm just saying I would be the most suitable to do this!"

"Why?! Why out of all of us, does it have to be you?!"

"Because me and Blake saw that... that thing when we entered Louis's head!" Ruby yelled. "We know what we're up against and how to deal with it, you and Weiss don't!"

...

...

Both sister's stared each other down and let their chests rise and fall, breaths coming out so hot it was steaming as the air left their mouths.

They looked like they want nothing but to smack the other unconscious for their own sakes, being less then a meter away from each other, yet they hesitated.

After what seemed like minutes, Ruby turned to Blake.

"I know you still like him, the same way I do." Ruby said slowly, causing the faunus to look down. "And it would be very unfair and selfish of me if I didn't give you this chance and hog it all to myself." Firm silver eyes met amber orbs. "But you aren't in a state to be walking, and you're still recovering your Aura. I know you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself if we're not giving it our all, just as how he had given it his to help us."

"Idiot..."

"Wha-" Ruby looked at the source of the insult. "Weiss?"

"You're a dolt." The heiress sighed as she pinched her nose ridge. "You're making it seem like you're the only one who wants to see him open his eyes. Although I agree with your logic, it's flawed."

"Flawed... how?"

"Assuming it would work, we still have no idea what it would do to you."

"You can't be suggesting..." Ruby's mouth fell open. "Y-you want to just... leave him like this?!"

"I'm saying I don't need to lose another teammate. And I don't mean just death." Weiss scoffed as she stood up and crossed her arms. "Personality-wise, you might change, and who's gonna set Team RWBY straight and lead them? I'll do it."

"I have the biggest Aura pool." Yang pointed out as she swiped a palm across the air. "I could take whatever he has to offer. I should be the one to go and do this."

"No."

"Rubes don't be stubborn!" The brawler hissed. "You still got a long way to go, and everything to lose!"

"So my opinion doesn't matter?!" Ruby sliced her hand in the air. "Just like how you were planning to make yourself the next maiden?! Just like how you've always decided what's best for me?!"

"Of course it matters!" Her sister screamed back as her fingers curled into fists. "But I don't want to lose you too, or see dad in that state again! Can you imagine what would happen if this goes south?! Do you even know what losing you would do to us?! Do you really want me to be the one to deliver the news, just like how Qrow did with mom? Do you really want to see Dad shut down again?! Dad, Qrow, me, and all your friends at Signal. How do you think I would feel?" She took a terrifying step forward as she pointed at the door. "How do you think _HE_ would feel?!"

Ruby's bravado cracked a little as both her eyes turned misty, but she held her ground.

"I have to do this..."

"Why?!" Yang roared. "Give me a good reason why it has to be you!"

"You don't know that thing like we do."

"Blake...?" Yang's dangerous glare averted to the cat faunus. "You can't be serious in actually saying Ruby should-"

"I would've offered myself for this." Blake said honestly. "I'm the only one in this team with a lot to atone for. But... she's right. Both you and Weiss don't have the capabilities and the knowledge to face that thing, and even though you guys wouldn't blame me for it, I would've just blamed myself over and over if this doesn't work."

"Then just tell us how!" Yang's hands shot up in the air as she forced her anger down from almost ripping her locks out.

"Saying it and doing it are two different things Yang." The faunus sighed exasperatedly as she pinched her nose ridge. "The fear from just the sight of it would paralyze you. It's flames will consume you where you stand."

"See this?" Blake took off the sheets, revealing herself garbed with only a simple green hospital gown, and lifted it to reveal her thighs.

A black spot emblazoned itself on it, almost like a birth mark, but more charred.

"This is just from it barely touching me." The faunus explained. "What do you think it'll do now that it's out to kill?"

Yang made to complain and opened her mouth, but something latched onto her core.

"Yang..."

The brawler's hardened gaze met silver eyes from over her shoulders.

"It'll work." The small reaper reassured as she hugged the brawler from behind. "Trust me. Trust in me, even though it's difficult, not knowing if it'll work or not, just believe I could pull this off. I've made bad calls as a leader, and not listening to him is one of them. Just this once." The brawler could feel her sister sniffling into her back.

"Please... Let me do this." She begged.

Yang's crimson eyes tracked her sister, along with Blake, then Weiss.

...

She sighed.

"I'm gonna regret this..."

_Shift_

"I take it you all have settled on a conclusion?" Kevin asked from above the platform, with the rest of the men busy doing something else in the left tube.

"We have." It was the heiress who answered, taking her hands off the wheelchair that the cat faunus occupied, and parted with the others to let their leader step forward.

"Alright then." The rotund man sighed as he pressed a button on what seemed to be, a cuboid switch. "I speak for the boys when I say we apologize we couldn't do more."

"It's okay." The small leader muttered with a watery smile. "You did more than you think."

Gears and cogs whirred as the platform descended from a 4 pulley system, each placed on each foundation, secured by steel chains.

As it barely reached eye level, the girls finally got a peek at the fruit of the men's labor, the thing that had been keeping them busy for the past week.

There wasn't much visible difference between what Pyrhha had described with her encounter with Ozpin, but what was noticeable was a few extra tubes and wires sticking out on top and the sides connecting the two cylindrical tubes together.

One contained Louis's body, covered to their best attempts which ended up with him looking mummified in white towels.

The sight of it caused Team RWBY to look away, unwittingly reminding them of what will happen should they fail.

The whirring stopped as it reached ground level with a shrill screeching of brakes that slowed their descent, while Kevin hopped off the platform to press another button on the yellow control box.

The glass door on the other steel chamber popped open, hissing and groaning as the door swung outwards and up to allow another passenger in.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Yang raised her brow.

"Nope." Amber popped as she and the rest of the boys stood by their sides. "But it's all we have."

Ruby's shoulder's stiffened at the sight of their male teammate as she inhaled a long, sharp breath in an attempt to calm herself.

"Whenever you're ready." Kevin said.

Giving her team a tight hug, she whispered her thanks for the support, with Yang being the hardest one to let go as she engulfed her sister in a tight embrace.

"Come back... you got that?" Yang whispered in her ear, getting the small reaper to return it with a slight nod.

Ruby crawled weakly into the chamber, eyes darting around in equal parts awe and fear as the glass hatch clicked and locked itself shut.

"Okay..." Kevin muttered under his breath. "Here goes nothing..."

The tubes lit up with an eerie burgundy glow.

Sparks flew.

Electricity crackled to life as voltage arced across the two tubes, charging them up.

_Ruby's POV_

_This is..._

_Terrifying._

_Cramped._

_I don't know what's going to happen._

_What's going to happen?_

_I'm hyperventilating._

_I need to calm down..._

_Calm..._

_It's hard to breathe..._

_The sight of my team being there for me is supposed to be comforting, but it's not._

Yang gave her a shaky thumbs up as she did her best to smile.

Then...

_Nothing but sharp pain permeated my body._

_Shift_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"What's going on?!" Yang screamed as she looked towards Amber for an explanation. "Stop the machine! Now!"

"I don't know!" Kevin claimed with a horrified expression. "It's supposed to be painless!"

"RUBY!"

_Ruby's POV_

_Pain..._

_Anger..._

_Hate..._

_Rage..._

_So much pain..._

_Eclipsed by Rage and Hate..._

_..._

_But if it's for him..._

_I'll..._

_I'll take it._

_I saw Yang lunge and extended her arm towards me._

_Shift_

"Let... me... GO!" Yang roared as she tried to yank the iron grip the maiden had on her. "You're killing her!"

"And if you come into contact with them you'll kill them BOTH!"

"W-what...?" Yang muttered as tears poured out of her crimson eyes, breaths hissing out of her teeth.

"YAAAAAAAARRAAAAAAAAH!"

Her knees buckled as she fell on her hands, looking helplessly as her sister writhed around in pain.

"I'm sorry." Amber closed her eyes. "We can't interfere... even if we want to."

"No..." Both hands rose to Blake's mouth.

"Grh..." Weiss grit her teeth as she let Myrtenaster fall to her side, not even aware that she lifted it up till the last moment.

_Ruby's POV_

"Louis..." Ruby muttered through grit teeth as specs of what seemed to be scars grazed the palms of her hands.

Despite the pain spreading equally across her body, she retained her will to see her friend well and alive.

"_Reaper Reaper..."_

_A voice...?_

_Where is it coming from...? _Ruby's silver eyes popped open as she looked around the chamber, but it was only herself present. _The wolf...?_

_No, the wolf's voice was gruff. Male._

_This was... different._

_Feminine._

_It was calling out to me. It's light and sweet like honey. It purred as it caressed my ears._

_"That's what people call me..." It continued, growing louder and in better clarity, becoming clearer than the thoughts of pain itself. "__Why? __Cause they all..."_

_..._

_"D** I E . . ."**_

_I gulped in desperately for air to somehow distract me from the overwhelming pain._

_Then, I got my distraction... as darkness overtook me, and I felt nothing._

**A/N**

**Nothing much to say here, still feeling a little down for all the people who's lost so much. Next Chapter should hopefully be Tuesday as usual.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white: Yeah I'm trying not to do that too often, just drags out the chapter like crazy. Lesson learned.**

**DankAnon: First, Evans wishes his thanks. That... might work for a gamer fic, which this is, unfortunately, not. I would keep tabs on the idea though, in case I do choose to make one, no promises. Yeah man, Evans is that side character people like more than the main, like Captain Levi on AOT.**

**Pazxxer: Seems like it... Man, wonder how that would go.**

**Lord Demolitions: Considering we died last time when Adrian is driving, that's less likely. Besides, this fic doesn't start off with "My name is Alice..."**

**Guest: Oooh, that's an idea I might use.**

**Anonymous 1987: Glad to have you along for the ride up to this point, and thank you for reading my fic. I hope you find another that suits your needs.**


	51. Chapter 51

"Tsss... uuhhh..."

_My eyes fluttered open, and I scrunched them shut almost immediately from the stinging in my orbs and the sharp pain it was giving me from taking in too much light all at once._

_Subconsciously, I held a hand over my head to block the white flare._

_I forced my eyelids to tear themselves open, even if my mind is telling me to get some more rest._

_My eyes watered slightly from the blinding white light, as if I never used them in forever, while my hazy thoughts were accompanied by a splitting headache._

_Half lidded, I muttered. _"Where..." _As a silhouette appeared at the corner of my peripheral._

"RUBY!" Someone screamed as she wrapped both arms around the reaper, engulfing her immediately.

"Can't... breathe..." _I desperately gasped for air as Yang nearly choked the life out of me in a rib crushing hug._

_I blinked a few times to let my eyes focus and adjust to the rays that were invading my eyes, and only then did I realize that I was in a familiar hospital bed._ "Yang, why are you crying...? What... happened?"

"You... don't remember?"

"Blake...?"

"Do I sound like Weiss to you?" The faunus countered sarcastically. "What was the last thing you remember then?"

"I remember being in the pod and..." Ruby's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "LOUIS!"

"Woah woah woah," Yang said as she dragged the small reaper down to her bed by her shoulders. "Easy there sis." She said, using the back of her arm to wipe away the tears from her lilac eyes.

"B-but... Louis!"

"He's... " Both Blake and Yang looked down, and that was when Ruby noticed something was off.

"Yang, Blake." Ruby leant towards the front to meet her sister's eyes as sternly and as calmly as she could. "Where. Is. Louis?"

"He's in the other room." Blake answered. "You passed out trying to save him, and Yang wouldn't allow the rest to even come near you after that whole... fiasco."

"Fiasco?" Ruby muttered. "So he's..."

"Awake..." Yang bit her bottom lip as her lilac eyes roved towards Blake for support. "But..."

"But what?" Ruby's eager eyes narrowed as she shot forward, the curiosity getting the better of her. "But what Yang?!"

_Did it work...?_

_Did I-_

"Friend Ruby!" The door slammed open.

"Oh great." Ruby groaned as she palmed her forehead. "Hey Penny." She croaked back weakly as she slumped against the frame of her bed, prompting the ginger haired android to skip and hop towards her side with an expression that was filled with nothing but pure joy.

"I am pleased to see you are back into an awakened state after shutting down for almost a week."

"A WEEK?!" Ruby yelped and flinched as pain flared on her side.

"That is correct." Penny scratched her cheek as her eyes rolled up as if the answers were somehow at the back of her head.

Knowing that she was secretly an android, the database probably was located somewhere in her equivalent of a cranium.

"I am not sure if it is normal for you meat persons to hibernate for such long periods." Penny giggled as she tiptoed. "But father said after what you did, that it is normal."

_What I... did?_

"The Aura Transfusion was a success!" Penny claimed as she rocked back and forth.

"Then Louis is-"

"He awoke a day before you did." Penny confirmed with a nod. "That is to say, the day before the now day or yesterday's today."

"But...?" Ruby asked as she exchanged her attention between the forlorn ones Blake and Yang were giving her in not meeting her eyes, and instead choosing to look at the ground, and Penny, who was smiling uncannily.

Knowing the drawbacks, the android's eyes saddened.

"His brain has not recovered it's functionality yet." Penny said without stuttering, voice stable but her lips were set into a thin line, killing her iconic smile. "His motoric performance is still uncalculated as well, but at the very least he is conscious, and is in a stable condition."

"So he's..."

"Disabled." Yang finished with a snarl as her eyes looked down at her lap, her fists trembling on her knees from anger or frustration, Ruby couldn't tell. "Alive and awake, but brain dead."

...

...

"I want to see him." Ruby said as determination gleamed in her eyes.

"Ruby, you don't-"

"I don't care Yang!" Ruby shouted. "Penny, help me up. I want to see Louis."

Before the ginger android could approach, someone scooped her up by her legs and carried her bridal style with a loud sigh, and from the tall altitude she was being lifted, it wasn't Penny.

"You didn't let me finish." Yang sighed again. "I was about to say, you don't have to do this alone."

"Penny, you get Blake." The brawler nodded off to the cat faunus, who in return, gave a slight nod.

Penny scooped her up the same way Yang did to Ruby.

...

...

"You... can put me on my wheelchair now."

_Shift_

3 knocks sounded at the door.

"Come in." A feminine voice answered back.

"Oh, it's you girls." Amber smiled weakly as the door opened. "Glad to see-"

"We didn't come here for you Evans." Yang frowned, getting a sigh and a shrug in return.

"Yeah yeah, I'll get out of your hair." Amber waved off as she got out of the room, making sure to shoot Ruby a smile as she passed by the trio. "Take care of him for me."

The door clicked shut.

None of the other boys were present.

"Louis...?"

Ruby basically scrambled out of Yang's grasp the moment the door closed, making her seem more like a cat for once compared to Blake.

She crawled up on his bed side, bitter tears stinging the edge of her eyes as her eyes scanned up and down at his crumpled state.

Louis was hunched forward, shoulders slumped, fingers twitching like an addict while his eyes were devoid of light, looking down at the toes of his feet.

Even at the sight of his leader and his team entering the room, he didn't react, nor did he glance.

"I-I'm so sorry..." Ruby cried as she sobbed into the blankets by his legs. "I couldn't save you..."

Yang and Blake looked away.

"This was my fault." She sobbed. "My fault... I should've been a better leader... I could've helped you! We could've helped you. I'm sorry!"

Yang hesitated to approach the leader, while Blake grabbed her partner's shoulder from Penny's grasp, and shook her head.

The brawler's hands fell to her side.

"You can't leave us! Please!" Ruby begged. "Not now! Not like this!" The small reaper yelled into the sheets. "Not when we haven't settled out problems... I promise I would listen this time. I promise!"

Then, after a moment of thought, she screamed as loud as she could, as if that were the solution to her problem.

"I love you!"

"Ruby..." Blake muttered.

"I love how you listened in on my past and comforted me through it all, how you attempted to help me get over my worries of being a bad leader, how you're always trying to help us in your weird ways and lucky guesses. That's why... that's why..."

"Oh, what else do you like about me?"

"You're handsome, and learn combat really really quick, I really like it when you spar with us, makes my confidence skyrocket to know there's someone that's older then me and isn't as good as I am, you suck as dancing as much as I do..."

"Mhmm, go on."

"You're always treating me like I'm a kid that doesn't understand anything, but I do! I also like how you came to me out of everybody else on how to build your first weapon. I understand now that this feeling that makes my heart soar isn't just some stupid childish crush! I love-"

"Uhh..." Yang dragged on as she made to tap her sister's shoulder. "Rubes..."

"I'm not through yet Yang! Louis asked what m-"

Ruby stilled.

He.

Asked.

...

Louis.

Asked.

She glanced up as damp silver eyes met obsidian, accompanied by a sly yet apologetic, smirk.

"You know, if this is what it takes for you to confess to me, or in this case, vent it all out in a fit equivalent of a tantrum, I have a feeling that we're gonna have an issue."

...

...

"You..." Ruby struggled to get out the words as tears poured out of her eyes. "You... big..."

The words died in her throat as it broke into sobs halfway, engulfing Louis in a warm embrace.

"Waaaaah... Louis..." The young reaper cried into his chest, wiping the tears on his hospital gown as her head shook from side to side, her arms flailing around weakly to try and beat it into his chest. "Louis..."

"There there." Louis hushed as he patted her head. "It's okay... You did good." He smiled. "All of you."

"Wanna tell us what the fuck just happened?" Yang asked with a curious brow as her eyes flashed crimson. "You were okay this whole time?!"

"Get JNPR in here will ya?" Louis requested as he nodded past the duo. "I think it's time for a bed time story."

"Copy." Amber smirked back from the doorway with her arms crossed.

"You knew?!" Yang shrieked. "And you didn't bother to tell us?!"

"That's what you get for hitting me in my gut and trying to do stuff on your own." Louis sighed in relief as he worked some knots out of his joints. "Really, the next time you try to do something, use your head for once."

_Yesterday_

_Louis's POV_

My eyes fluttered open as light poured into them, blinding me almost instantly.

"Urrrgh..." I groaned from the pain spreading throughout my whole body.

At least I could feel pain.

The last thing I need was to feel fuck all.

That's good enough.

"Yo." A voice called out towards my side.

I glanced at the woman with copper skin who was smirking in relief, back leant on the doorway. "You look like shit."

"Checked the mirror out lately?" I mumbled as I tried to get up and face her on an equal level, but the soreness in my limbs paralyzed me.

_Where the hell are we?_

Evans must've noticed my expression because he answered "Welcome, to Prof P's base of operations in Vale." He gestured through Amber's body. "You're in the med bay."

_Med bay?_

"So I'm guessing we did it?" I groaned out the question.

"Rest easy old friend. Beacon is well... I wouldn't say safe per se." I raised my brow at the woman scratching his chin, then narrowed my eyes. "But Grimm free. And the girls are safe."

"JNPR?"

"Alive."

"Thanks..." I gratefully nodded as I felt my own lips curled up into a smile, cracking some kinks out of my neck, and flinching almost immediately as I heard something crack within as sharp pain shot through my neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Amber sighed as she helped me prop a pillow against the frame, and helped me up to lean my back into it. "That Berserker armour really took a toll on you. You came out looking like swiss cheese."

"Yeah, well. It's supposed to." I shrugged back nonchalantly. "You know what it does. You helped me build it."

"You're an idiot."

"That makes two of us."

As I observed the room around me, I craned my neck upwards to catch sight of a symbol of a man in a wheelchair with the words-

_You've gotta be kidding me._

"Evans I need to ask you about this."

"Shoot."

"Why did you stick _Deshabille_ above my head?"

"Because you were disabled."

...

...

"_Deschabille_ means undressed, you moron!"

"Have you looked at yourself lately?"

I looked down.

Shit.

I would've scrambled to put some covers on myself if I could feel my arms.

As of now, I could move some of my limbs, but my fingers were out of the question.

As to feeling them though? They're... numb.

"Can you at least get me dressed _before_ the girls come in and see my naked ass?" I groaned.

"You want _me_ to be the one to do it?" Amber grimaced.

"You want one of the girls to be the one to do it?" I raised my brow.

"They already did" She muttered under her breath.

"I heard that." I deadpanned.

"Ugh, fine." Amber rolled her eyes as she walked out the door. "I'll get Penny to do it."

"Fine by me."

_Later..._

"You feeling alright though?" I asked honestly once I got all comfortable and snug in my new teal jeans and a simple jet black T-shirt. "You weren't in the best condition as the maiden and sure as hell don't look it now."

"What can I do?" Amber shrugged back. "My real body has to go to the Land of Darkness otherwise they'll start getting suspicious."

"You left already?" I asked.

"About a week ago, when I was certain you'd recover."

"Huh, who'd knew you had such faith in me and my Aura." I chuckled, made to raise a brow when Amber flinched. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. You recovered faster than expected." She ran a hand through his hair and chuckled back nervously. "Anywho, now that you're back, do you want me to inform the others? They missed you y'know..."

"Oh my, how'd you figure that one out?" I rolled my eyes.

"Is that a yes?"

"It isn't a no, but just not yet." I smirked. "I think it's time for a bit of payback..."

"Ooh, me likey."

"By the way, make sure Penny knows, you know how she is."

"Hey, her droid features make poker facing look like child's play."

...

"Good point."

_Present Day_

"Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions," I said as I glanced towards the 6 main characters currently seated in a rough circle around the room, with Evans in the form of Amber back leant on a chair on my left, and Kevin sat on a barstool on my right. "So who's gonna be the one to address the Goliath in the room?"

Ruby... refused to leave my side, so I let her clung on in the space between Evans and me, which should've make things awkward, but dismissing her would be bastardous and utterly mean of me.

Plus even when told, I doubt that she would let go, and any attempt in prying her would make my already fragile bones snap like a twig.

I was just glad it wasn't Nora instead, or else I would've been dead minutes ago.

As I was told by Evans, Weiss had been forced to go back by her father with Winter as an escort in case anything happens, just like in canon, while Qrow is being sent to search for Li'l boy Ozpin.

Knowing Oscar, it might take a while to find a payphone, especially when there is a 6-8 month time skip in Volume 4, and not knowing when exactly everything lines up, we unfortunately just have to play the waiting game.

With the majority of Team RWBY not splitting up, Qrow had no direction to go on since he plays the secret babysitter role in 4, and a literal babysitter role in 5, so he had no choice but trust in the words of Evans in the form of Amber, since y'know, he was supposed to be guarding Amber in the first place.

And Evans as Amber could probably commit suicide, he pointed out. Still don't get why that's a thing after we'd worked so hard to save her maiden ass, but knowing Qrow and the thing's he'd probably seen, I couldn't blame him entirely.

Surprisingly he trusted the boys to take care of his nieces, or the other way around, as he left only after making sure the men all couldn't fight back.

After clearing up the misunderstanding and the stern reprimanding Evans got from Glynda in the form of... gravitational bondage? He got off the hook when she had learned that we were doing this for the betterment of mankind, just like how she herself was backed into a corner by forcing the choice on Pyrhha, even though she disproves of it herself.

Same same, but different. To be declining us in our ways would be hypocritical of her.

With these similarities, the teacher and our party came to an understanding, and she was being sent to negotiate with Ironwood for our, that is to say, Team RWBY's, arrival.

Evans is a wanted felony while I am dead to the world, after all. If we were to tag along, we were to remain in the shadows.

Knowing we don't have a choice but to go to Argus because the whole of Atlas is gonna shut itself out from the world come the year, all we could do is hold out hope that facing Cordovin wouldn't be as much of a pain as it was in canon.

Winter was actually considering apprehending Evans after we settled down for causing the Fall in the first place, however...

She, despite her strict nature and to our relief, had waved it off as a favor for saving both her and Weiss's life.

Surprisingly, there was no news as of now for Tai Yang Xiao Long's whereabouts, and that was probably because... We were located in an underground research facility of Professor Polendina.

We're probably gonna get screwed over if Ruby does all the explaining of being kept 'underground' by 'a group of large men', but with Yang present, I wouldn't worry too much.

...

Okay, maybe worry.

Worry a lot.

"Why don't we start from the obvious?" Yang demanded with crossed arms and an even more crossed expression. "Why didn't you tell us about this plan of yours?"

_Alright, here goes nothing._ I sighed internally.

"Quite honestly," I started. "I _wanted_ to."

I met every set of eyes possible, making sure to bore into them my honesty.

"We trusted each other, fought, ate and bled together. A camaraderie was built between us that I would never had betrayed. So why?"

"That is the question I'm asking yes." The blonde brawler specified needlessly.

"Well, that was because the plan was altered." I answered with a shrug. The others balked at that. Their expressions seemed to ask 'That's it?' "Drastically altered, with last minute changes that we could never had anticipated."

"Everything is done for a reason. I told this to Blake and, to my surprise and pleasure, she seemed to take it to heart." I smiled her way, causing the cat faunus to shrink and turn red under my gaze. "Well, our original plan was actually to..."

_Flashback_

The rest of team RWBY then introduced themselves to Penny, who introduced themselves back, with the exception of myself, but... Yang introduced me along anyways. Before they left however, I made sure that Ruby jolted down Penny's contact number by scroll.

"Alright! Bye bye friend!" Ruby waved off.

"Why would you need a competitor's number?' Weiss asked, raising her brow.

"Backup." I smiled as we walked off.

_Later..._

Beep...

Beep...

"Hello?"

"Friend Louis!" Penny screamed into the scroll, causing me to reel back and hold my own a limb's length away.

"Hello... Penny." I said slowly, like I was surrounded and about to be interrogated by the mafia.

"Yes, this is delightful! My second friend who has managed to come to talk to me after Friend Ruby. This is my first time calling a friend with my scroll system apart from contacting father. Does that make me a call gir-"

"Uhh, Penny...?" I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

_Man am I glad this wasn't on speaker._

"I am learning so much! You must teach me the art of calling women. What do we do after this friend Louis? Do we visit each other's quarters and have a 'sleepover'? Delightful! I must report this to father immediate-"

"Penny!"

"...Yes...?" She asked meekly.

"Is this is a secure line?"

"Why yes." She said all too happily. "It comes with high quality signal as well. After all, my scroll is built in-"

"Built in...?"

"It is nothing, friend Louis."

She hiccuped.

"Listen." I rubbed my temples. "Can you perhaps patch this call through so that I could talk with your father? I have a friend that would like to learn a lot from him. And before you ask, that's an extra friend for you too."

"Another friend?!" She squealed, causing me to hold out my hand and wince from the sudden increase in volume. "Oh yes, this is very delightful! I have made so much friends in the time span of under 24 hours. Father shall be delighted!"

"Great," I said as the call went silent, and my scroll beeped a few times.

"Hello...?" A deep, raspy voice asked. "Penny? Why'd you call? Father's busy right no-"

"Hello, Professor Polendina." I greeted calmly as I heard a startled gasp. "Don't panic and don't disconnect. I know who you are and that you are afraid about the world knowing what your daughter is," I made sure to keep things vague, in the case that Penny actually is recording this. "And this is not a threat. This is actually.. a proposal."

"Proposal you say?" He asked, genuinely interested.

"I have a friend who is actually quite interested in your field of work." I smirked cockily. "Would you please entertain the idea of having an intern?"

"A-an intern?!" The elderly man on the other side of the scroll choked.

"If you're worried about him spreading your research, don't be. We're doing this for the betterment of mankind as well. Plus, Penny had already acknowledged our existences as her 'friends', and you know she's gonna be all too happy to meet one. Especially one that comes to visit everyday."

"Uhhh..." I could imagine him scratching his bald head, weighing out the options. "I don't know... I've never had experience in teaching anyone before, and I don't know how good this 'intern' of yours is."

"He learns fast." I said as I checked my wallet. "And we're not native, and came from the outskirts of Vacuo. We desperately need this line of work and need the money soon. I hope the pay is up to standard?"

"For Aura research?!" He laughed heartily as all the strain in his voice dissipated almost immediately. "You will be rewarded handsomely. I will consider it after an interview with him myself. But young man, where is this intern of yours located?"

"Vale." I said. "You need to come here anyways right? To watch over Penny."

"Why young man, I coincidentally am en route to Vale as of right now. Why don't we discuss this over some hot chocolate, and bring your intern along with you!"

"That I will." I smiled. "Thank you."

"Young man."

"Hm?"

"I didn't catch your name, or the name of the intern."

"My name is Louis sir," I replied with a cheeky laugh. "And the intern's, is Evans."

_Present Day_

"...Not long after that, his salary got split in two, since, you know, I need to eat as well."

"Freeloader." Amber mumbled.

"Hey, I got you the damn job in the first place!" I almost threw my hands up in the air, only to wince and shrink under the glares everybody was giving me from even talking with the injuries I've gained. "And I can't exactly concentrate of both getting a job and keeping tabs of both the villans and main characters all at the same time."

Amber huffed and crossed her arms.

"Anywho... A few weeks into it, Evans found a discarded concept for project S.T.A.R.D.U.S.T in the garbage can, and when asked why it was thrown away, Penny's dad mumbled about it being too lethal and too unstable to use."

"But you still used it." Blake deadpanned.

"Hey, anything to get a decent edge against the enemies we were gonna face." I shrugged. "Life isn't fair, and so are the villains we're facing here. Thus, we pushed it until it became the weapon you know now."

I pointed at Amber. "Evans took the first step and built White Knuckle Ride. Once he determined it was safe to use, he passed the recipe onto me, where I built Rose Nasty, now renamed Obsidian Nova." I quickly corrected when Ruby glanced upwards and gave me a stink eye. "Based off the same projection-type dust Velvet was using, and amplifying it to get a cutting edge."

"That still doesn't answer what your plan was." It was Ren who asked, skeptical as always.

"Well, initially, we wanted to interfere subtly," I explained to the best of my potential. "As you all already know, Penny and Pyrhha were supposed to fight in that Arena, and Emerald was gonna use her Semblance to make Pyrhha ends up killing Penny."

Pyrrha flinched while Penny stood beaming.

"But..." The android continued, prompting me to go on.

"But we weren't just gonna sit around. We planned to change that." I cut in before Jaune could act irrationally. "Evans's job was to draw the attention of the villains and get him to be the one to fight Penny." I gestured towards the maiden, who nodded.

"Since I have White Knuckle Ride, I'll be able to shut Penny down without harming her. Just like flipping a switch on a light bulb, but it isn't permanent." He added quickly when Ruby shot him a horrified expression, and others looked at him confused.

"Oh yeah," Amber added. "Penny's an android."

Everybody in the room either raised a brow or scanned the ginger haired girl up and down repeatedly.

"And I." I continued as some faced me while more was still in awe at the fact that she looked so lifelike. "Built Obsidian Nova based on the couple I'd thought I'd succeeded pairing. It's synonym of a name is BlackSun, after all." I glanced at the cat faunus in question. "The dual wield aspect was from you and Gambol Shroud, while the fact that it could connect to a long lethal polearm was based on Sun's weapon. Doesn't matter." I added when Blake made to look away. "What's done is done, and if you aren't happy with him then I can't force you to be."

The cat faunus shied away under my gaze as she looked towards the ground, as if a knife had just been twisted in her gut.

"Do you... " She mumbled. "_Want_ me to get back with him...?"

"Not if it doesn't make you happy, no I don't."

She smiled as her cheeks flared bright pink, with Ruby pouting cutely underneath me.

I was told by Evans that they broke up.

To make it worse, it was over my death.

"Anywho, since Evans is gonna fight Penny, I was about to fight the champ herself." I gestured at the champion. "Since her Semblance is Polarity, the only things she could affect are metal. If Emerald tries to pull the same trick and fool Pyrhha into attacking me, Obsidian Nova's hilts would get torn out of my hands and possibly come slamming into me, but the blades would automatically retract the moment I don't hold on to it."

"Thus saving your life with minor injuries and exposing them..." Pyrhha realized.

"That's..." Jaune looked speechless. "I don't know, genius...?"

"Okay, so why was the plan altered?" Blake asked.

I met Amber's deadpan gaze.

"I thought it was obvious..." I deadpanned myself with an exasperated sigh. "Dwiki exposed the cruicial truth right before the Fall, remember?"

"Luckily, we're prone to pulling all nighters and last minute deadlines." She continued, shaking her head with a sigh.

"Woah woah," Yang held out both hands as if to say 'Slow down'. "That doesn't explain why you have to cause the Fall of Beacon in order to stop it."

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Kevin cut in before I could open my mouth.

"Help... us...?" Ruby's eyes shifted towards the rotund man.

"True, but what are we really trying to do?" The rotund man asked again. "If we stop them here and now, what's to say they won't try again?"

Everybody present just exchanged confused looks, and after a while of thinking hard, they shrugged and hold both hands to their sides, giving up.

"You kids nowadays." Kevin's chair scraped back as he got up. "We're spreading messages to get passed on. Memes, the DNA of the soul."

"They shape our will, they are the culture, they are everything we pass on." He spread his arms as if passing on an important lexture. "Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Anger, Greed Despair. All Memes, all passed along."

"Adam and the White Fang..." Blake murmured under her breath, drawing all attention on her.

"Bingo." Kevin pointed towards our resident cat faunus. "At first, his reasoning for the killings was to protect innocent faunus. You dismissed it and believed him, not that we fault both of you, for he himself might've once believed in that ideal too."

"As time went on, it evolved to something else. Keeping those thoughts in mind and that the person he 'loves' believes it too, it spared him the burden of all the lives he's taken." Amber continued. "Absolved him of guilt when he so clearly enjoyed it."

"That is of course until the illusion was broken." I finished Monsoon's quote right then and there. "And thank dust it snapped you awake."

"So what 'memes'." Yang air quoted as she raised a confused brow. "Would you like to spread by 'killing' yourself?"

"A false sense of victory, for one." I explained. "Thank god for both our Sembelances, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pull this off at all."

"You... HAVE a Semblance?" Nora shot to her feet, lurching forward while Ren and Jaune held the hyperactive redhead back. "Ooooh, what is it what is it?!"

Luckily Ruby was too exhausted to keep up with her usual sugary hype, though it didn't stop her from looking up, silver eyes gleaming curiously into mine.

"Really?" I asked as I scanned the crowd. "I'd thought it obvious by now."

_Flashback_

"Worked up a landing strategy yet?!" I yelled over the rush of air across my cheeks.

"Nope." Evans popped. "But we'd better work on it quick or else we'll just end up as just another pretty stain on the ground!"

Shit.

I thought he'd at least thought this part through.

"I'm not sure our Aura's could even tank this much damage..." He muttered.

"Do you prefer the tall but perpendicular angle or the lower but fast route?"

"Tall!" He yelled out in panic as we rapidly descended in altitude, brushing past the branches of a few taller trees along the way.

"Okay, follow my lead!" I roared as I positioned myself to crouch in a fetal position mid air rotating so that my feet was facing upwards, while Evans synced his feet to meet mine.

"On 3." He said.

"3!"

"Wait waiiii- AAAAARRRRGH!"

He zipped upwards, effectively slowing his acceleration while I skyrocketed downwards.

Seeing the overgrowth, I dived headfirst in between 2 tall trees that were sprouted too close to each other, with the space between it able to fit a body of a grown man.

_They should be more dried up compared to the others, considering they're sapping nutrients from one another..._

_Perfect._

Here goes nothing...

I flicked Rose Nasty outwards, extending crimson translucent blades as I twisted my body to spin around as fast as I could, making the world's deadliest human sized Bey blade. Twigs snapped and trunks scraped against the blood red projection dust, gradually slowing my altitude with each foot I descended.

I came to a complete halt a mere 3 feet from the ground, with my arms feeling like rubber and my spinning momentum completely halted.

"Whew..." I sighed in relief, kicking my feet outwards so that my feet could touch the ground. "That's a one in a million."

I could've tried to pull what Ren did by jabbing Rose Nasty in one huge trunk and going around the trees, but there was no guarantee the blades wouldn't just pierce all the way through.

_Huh, I wonder how Evans is doi-_

"Oof!" All the air was blasted out of my chest as I felt a boulder slam into my back.

"Nailed it!" He smirked cockily.

"Asshole." I muttered as I looked behind me at a sitting Evans. "I'm guessing you haven't managed your landing strat yet."

"You are my landing strat." He joked lamely as he hopped off my back. "In any case, we should head out before the sun sets."

"Agreed," I nodded as I dusted myself off and grabbed ivory hilts. "We should scout for a place to camp. Any clue?"

_Later..._

Growling.

Crunching.

That's what we heard as we made our way deeper into the forest.

"Day one and already a pack of Beowolves huh?" Evans hunched his back and fell into a boxing stance, slipping on White Knuckle Ride.

"Seems like it." I replied as I unbuckled Rose Nasty from my belt and deployed the blades to my sides.

The beasts emerged from the treeline, a mixture of low classed mammalian Grimm, ranging from Boarbatusks, Beowolves and an Ursai thrown in there somewhere, with what seemed to be an Alpha Beowolf leading the charge.

"I'm counting 15 easily." I said as my back touched Evans's.

They lunged at us with bloodthirsty intent.

"Split!" I yelled as Evans and I rolled opposite sides of each other, landing on our chests as the Ursai lumbered over to me.

A quick jab to the gut halted it in it's tracks, and using both arms, I dragged the embedded blade across, making for a gruesome disembowelment.

"Oi Lou!" Evans yelled from the opposite side. "Need some help over here!"

"I'm trying man!" I shouted back as I used one of my light katanas to prop myself up, and gave a powerful downward slash to split a Beowolf in two.

_Not good._ I grit my teeth to hack into a Boarbatusk's skull as Evans backed up into a tree, with 4 bestial shapes closing in slowly.

A quick jab up threw the Alpha off balance, and I dove into it's guard to jab the back of my pommel as a pseudo uppercut.

"Come on ye bastards!" I yelled as one pounced for Evans, while I anchored another by aiming for the hamstring, piercing all the way to the ground like a makeshift nail.

The third and fourth were conflicted on who to go at, and ended up lunging in separate directions.

Just like I expected.

A loud thud from in front told me Evans had already handled his fair share of the deal, and with more pouring in to close in on us, I had to dispatch of mine almost immediately.

It growled sniffing the air for any suspicious scents, as if expecting us to have a form of backup. It's eyes scanned me warily, hoping for me to make the first move.

Then, it lunged.

I rammed Rose Nasty's blade into it's eye socket, the crimson tip visible on the other side for instant lobotomy.

"There's too many!" Evans said as he scrambled to hug a thick tree trunk in an attempt to climb it. "We have to get out of here, unless you want me to-"

"No! Don't use Raging Storm here!" I snarled. "It'll set the whole forest ablaze!"

"Right..." He said as he managed to somehow scale a tall tree, find a stable enough branch to settle on, and locked his legs around it to swing his body upside down, arms extended to reach out for me which reminded me of a certain monkey faunus.

"Give me your hand!" He yelled.

Gritting my teeth, I did as he said and reached up.

I felt my black tinted Aura flare, trying to force itself out of my body the moment our hands connected.

The Beowolves clawed at my feet and missed as I leapt upwards, then took a moment to sniff and relocate where my position was.

They all glanced upwards, then lurched, jaws chomping at my feet like a school of fish trying to eat off a bait at the end of a pole. One even managed to lunge higher than the rest, it's jaws wide open as it tried to tear Evans's arm off.

"Shit!"

Evans flung me higher then I would've wanted from the sudden panic, which almost caused me to never celebrate father's day again as I barreled down with my legs split wide open.

Luckily, I avoided that possibility as I tilted my body at the last few seconds, using both hands to propel the momentum I was going at and landed on the flat length in a crouch.

"Whew, that was close." He snickered as he saw the whole ordeal unfold with his scroll out, which caused me to deadpan.

"Really dude?" I asked flatly. "You knew that was gonna happen, didn't you?"

"Hey, you were the one who said we should come up with a landing strategy!"

"Yeah yeah, take it out on me why don't you?" I waved off, then widened when I saw what was trailing down his legs. "Dude, how'd you run out of Aura already? We just started."

"Huh...?" He asked, then gaped as he felt what I was looking at. Fresh warm blood trailed down his forearm, all the way down to his hands from a nasty gash across his elbow. "When the hell?!"

"Calm down." I said as I took out a med kit from my backpack. "Is your Aura really that thin?"

"No..." He replied, then his jaws dropped as he realized something. "Did you perhaps... unlock your Semblance already?"

"The hell are you talking about?" I asked back with a raised brow as I bandaged his arm. "No way I'd unlocked my Semblance this fast."

_Present Day_

"After a few trial and errors, we confirmed it." I said. "My Semblance is to deplete take away someone's Aura the moment I touch them."

"Huh... an Aura killer." Yang quipped as she put her finger to her chin. "Never saw you use it before though."

"Really?" Both me and Amber deadpanned.

"There's that fight with Qrow which only Weiss and Ruby saw." Amber pointed out.

_Flashback_

As soon as we skidded to a halt, Harbinger started to slowly glow and scorch on it's edge, deforming and warping where it met Obsidian Nova.

Evans got up and grabbed the top of Harbinger's blade with White Knuckle Ride on his hands as the rings around the spikes on his knuckle dusters glowed, causing sparks to travel down towards the scythe's handle. Cackling electricity burst through Qrow's fingers not a second later, causing him to let go of his weapon and yell out in pain, waving his scorched palms.

I followed it up by crouching and advancing towards him as I grabbed his side, causing Qrow to instinctively try to grab my wrist.

My body flared with a dark Aura.

Changing my stance almost immidiately, I then striked upwards with an uppercut, launching him back a few feet as he landed on his rear with a loud thud. Almost immediately, he sat upright and rubbed his chin spitting out blood to the pavement.

"Oookay... now that'd hurt." He admitted. "You just pissed me off kid."

_Present Day_

"Ooohh..." Ruby mused. "Is that how you managed to make him bleed in such a short time?"

"Eeyup." I nodded.

"Then there was that one time I had to fight a pissed off heiress because you two decided to play detective and followed me and Ruby."

Blake immediately looked at the floor while Yang, the ceiling.

Both whistled innocently while Ruby pouted and puffed up her cheeks with air.

I held my hands to my ears for what's about to happen next.

"YAAAAANG! BLAAAAAKE!"

Flashback

The suit of armour didn't hesitate for a second, as it limped towards where Weiss was, no concerns applied to it's scorched leg.

Beep.

My blade shut down completely, retracting both orange blades as the monitor went blank, and I slid to where Weiss was.

The armour, taking huge strides, arrived barely 10 meters away as it swung it's blade overhead to bring down.

Weiss closed her eyes.

Right then, it froze mid air, just like a still image.

After a few seconds, it started to slowly hiss and dissipate, causing me to let out a relieved sigh.

"What... was that?" Weiss shuffled about, eyes widening as she looked at my hand on her ankle, causing her to kick it off. "And what are you doing?!"

"I just saved us." I breathed a sigh of relief and detached Obsidian Nova from each other to buckle them on either sides of my jeans.

"What do you mean?!" Weiss shrieked as she crawled away in disgust.'

_Present Day_

"And then, obviously there was the tournament itself." I said as Ruby struggled to get a hit in with Yang and her superior arm length.

In the end, Ruby just flailed around and hoped that a slap connected, while Yang lifted her with a whole arm outstretched.

"Louis came with a fancy name for it as well." Amber chuckled as everybody leant in curiously. "He's calling it, Purge."

_Flashback_

"Don't interfere." Evans shouted aloud, as if addressing the crowd, planting his feet and fell into a boxer's stance as he squared his feet.

"This is between us." I echoed his shout as well, getting the crowd to erupt in a wave of murmurs.

"And it ends here." Evans held up both hands, rings glowing fiercely azure as the brass knuckles sparked and flickered to life.

My gazed flicked to the monitors for a split second.

55% of Aura on me, and about 38% on Evans.

"Okay." I crouched down into a marathon runner's stance as I extended my arms to both sides, leaving his front wide open as the crimson blades sparked to life, pulsating scarlet dimly in the afternoon sun. "Let's dance."

No other words were exchanged between us, as I charged straight ahead, with no attempt from Evans to dodge.

He reeled one fist back, prepared to exchange my blow with his, expecting a huge impact and recoil.

My body tilted sideways, and I grasped my chest.

To the naked eye in the afternoon sun, it was invisible, but my body glowed as black Aura flashed for a split second.

And at that moment, my vision blurred for a split second, before Evans multiplied into 3, and mecha shifted his knuckle dusters into revolvers, and aimed all 6 guns at my direction, fingers on the trigger.

_..._

_Hmph._

_Goodbye..._

_Old friend._

_Present Day_

"And that was how I 'died'." I explained casually with a shrug.

The others nodded intently, while Blake sat at the far end of the whole sisterly kerfuffle.

"And the reasons you didn't trust us to fake your death was...?" Yang asked with a raised brow as Ruby seemingly calmed down from her tantrum, only to give her sister a well deserved headbutt.

"Okay that's it!" She yelled as her eyes flashed crimson, and wrapped her sister in one of the med bay's bedsheets, layer by layer, like a cocoon.

Or... a straight jacket.

"YAAANG! Let me out of this, now!" The small reaper commanded as she writhed and bounced around like a rabid puppy.

"You need to calm down!"

"You followed me!"

"I'm your sister!" She persisted. "I'm supposed to make sure nothing happens to you!"

"You don't trust me!"

"I do! I just don't trust Louis!"

"I'm right here y'know." I deadpanned.

"Shut up!" She roared as she lumbered towards me to pick me up by the collar. "Enough beating around the bush. Why didn't you trust us with your plan? We could've faked your death quite as easily as you and Evans did."

I glanced at Amber out of the corner of my eye.

Her eyes met mine and shrugged.

"Who said it was faked?"

**A/N**

**Finished this chapter a bit earlier then normal, so you guys get an early chapter. Yay!**

**Anywho, for those patient enough to wait and stuck through, I hoped this chapter answered most of your questions as to what how or why. **

**As to the plan, that'll come next chap, since this chapter had gone long enough.**

**Hope this chapter didn't just feel like a standard info dump, and I hope you guys have a great New Year so far.**

**Despite what the news says...**

**Reviewer Session**

**paradox0.5White: I completely forgot what that is. As in what it does.**

**ZmbMadragon: Glad to know that you enjoyed it, hope I can get your fav as well as follow, as well as your support in sticking all the way through!**


	52. Chapter 52

"W-what...?" Yang jumped, reeling backwards until she couldn't anymore. A soft thud signaled the corner of the room as her back hit the edge of a wooden table.

A mighty crash told us something fell to the floor, but our focus remained uninterrupted.

"Who said it was faked?" I repeated after myself, and raised a curious brow as I massaged my chest, then slowly roved to my collarbone where the brawler grasped it with such crushing intent that there was an audible crunch while it threatened to snap.

"Y-you're lying..." Yang laughed hoarsely without any much bite but more disbelief as she exchanged glances between the floor, the group of faces and I. "Y-you're here... there's no way y-you-"

"Friend Louis speaks the truth, sister of friend Ruby." The ginger haired girl said flamboyantly as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her foot. "Friend Evans killed friend Louis right after he touched himself."

"I... wouldn't phrase it like that." I coughed into my fist to try and hide my flushed cheeks, and a quick glance caught multiple cheeks either darken or brighten, except for the two men- well, one man and a maiden on my sides who were able to shrug it off, and the sisters.

Both Yang and Ruby's both paled and seemed to stiffen as if they'd just seen a ghost.

With how little they knew, I wouldn't blame them.

_Flashback_

"...So, now that Dwiki flipped the initial plan right on it's head, what'cha plan to do about it?" Kevin asked.

"Wait, why m-" He clamped both hands over his mouth as everybody in the room, and to our surprise, even Derrick, glared so coldly, it seemed to have chilled him right to the bone.

"What'd you mean?" Evans asked after Dwiki shrank away to the furthest corner of the bed he could without toppling over.

"You're not planning to just sit by and watch it all Fall apart right in front of your eyes are you?" He asked as he looked towards the both of us, who looked towards the floor.

"After all the hard work you've both done..?" Kevin's brows furrowed as his lips twisted into a frown. "You can't be serious."

"O-of course not!" Evans shot up from his seat. "It's just... we haven't came up with something yet." He looked to me, pleading for a solution. "Right Lou...?"

"I don't know..." I gnarled frustratingly as I set one foot down on the floor and sighed. "The plan was simple enough to execute. Sure, it's not without it's drawbacks of gaining Salem's attention afterward, but it was easy enough to pull off, given what we have right now. Besides, we've already gained the attention of Ironwood by revealing Stardust, and I, Ozpin's by being part of one of the main teams. Salem was gonna follow sooner or later."

I spat at the floor, while the rest of the boys looked at Evans for reassurance.

Evans looked away.

...

"And when had easy been the only way out?"

"Excuse me?" I asked as I met stern brown eyes.

"When had easy been the only way out?" Kevin asked again. "You act as if there's only have one way to stop the Fall." He shrugged. "You've always been tenacious on helping people Lou. And to give up after a blunder which _Dwiki_ of all people caused? That's not the Louis I know."

"You're saying you could've seen that coming?" I shot back.

"From a mile away." He answered with a simple shrug. "You should've anticipated it the moment he set foot into Beacon. Either way, what's done is done. But you can bet your ass that if you still want to do this..." He jabbed a finger into his chest. "You have my full support."

"Eh?" I blinked a few times and my mouth fell open at his sudden claim.

Only one word played in my head over and over as I stared into brown eyes dumbfoundedly.

A few blinks and a full minute to process the information later, eventually I pushed through and asked the obvious.

"Why?"

"When was the last time_ you_ wanted to do something on your own accord?" He shrugged casually. "I couldn't remember. You've always helped me when I wanted or needed your help, now let me help you."

"That simple?" I scoffed and crossed my arms, flinching slightly as it reminded me of a certain heiress. "You do realize this is a life or death thing right? We're not fighting verbally for student rights against a school principal here."

"Actually..." Evans raised a finger, but it went ignored.

"We're fighting in a war that isn't even ours to begin with." I continued. "What do you have to gain?"

"Hey, if you planned to save them in the first place then I take it that they're either as important or more important then we are to you." He shot back, causing me to look away, being read like a book. "Now, I take it since you've had an entire year to plan this, I know for a fact that this isn't the only thing you've had in mind. You're the last person I know to have tunnel vision, Lou."

I looked towards everybody's determined faces, bar Dwiki, who was tapping away at his scroll and seemingly drained of all energy to talk back or even pay attention to our back and forth debate.

They all nodded towards me.

...

"Derrick?"

"What? Just because I got brainwashed into working with Cinder Fall and Roman Torchwick, and... stole some undies." Even he himself winced under his own statement as he faltered a little under our deadpanned gazes. "Doesn't mean I want to watch the characters and the whole of Remnant fall to Salem, take that as a weakness for all four and capitalize on it."

"That's an idea I could expand on."

_SMACK_

"Oww... Whyyy meee...?" Dwiki rubbed the back of his head.

"You know very well 'why you'." Kevin deadpanned.

"Adrian...?"

"If Kevin's in then so am I." Adrian agreed with a nonchalant shrug. "The boys stick together, you know how it is Lou. It's always been that way on earth, and it sure as hell isn't gonna change here."

"Dwiki?"

"Whatever."

_SMACK_

"Oi! Fine..." He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "As long as what I have to do isn't too hard."

I looked to the final person in question.

"Evans...?"

"_If a fool shall persist in his folly, he shall become wise._" Evans smirked. "So it is written."

The edge of my lips curled into a smirk.

"Alright then..."

"What's the plan Lou?" The rotund man asked.

"What we've always done before." I sighed while I shot up to my feet from the guest beds. "We improvise."

"Wait wha-" Evans's neck snapped in my direction as the gears in his head spun. "No... You can't mean..." His eyes widened as his jaw hung loosely as he realized what I meant. "Lou! It's not ready yet!"

"It'll have to be." I said. "For the sake of Remenant.

"We _agreed_ Lou." Evans snarled. "I helped you built it, under the condition that it will only be used as a last resort. You can't be saying you want to use it here and now!" He yelled. " It's way too early!"

"And do you see another way out?!" I roared back a challenge. "They _know_ what's about to happen. They're not just gonna sit tight and have a tea party while it all goes down! They're gonna try something very stupid, and there's no guarantee Cinder won't alter her plans as well, knowing of our existence early game."

I gnashed my teeth together as I swiped my hand across the air, silencing him as I drove the final nail in the coffin. "Knowing that we Seers exist already puts her plan in jeopardy, and she's not dumb enough to just 'trust' you out of a whim! She's gonna be more cautious than ever before. There's a chance there's more than just Grimm present at the Fall. You of all people know this."

"What exactly is he talking about Ev?" Kevin asked while he raised a suspicious brow.

Evans cursed under his breath, then his stern gaze met mine.

"Something stupid..." He muttered as he rubbed his chin. "But it'll be hella memorable alright."

_Later..._

"Wow..." Kevin whistled and marveled at the mere sight of the scientific laboratory. Beakers and test tubes frothed and bubbled away, containing a concoction of cyan tinted liquid Dust that shone mysteriously from within, while wires and mechanical limbs lay rested atop the table on the other side. It was smaller than most major manufacturing labs in Remnant.

But then again, it was meant to be a temporary outpost, a momentary place to stay of sorts, as Professor Polendina took Evans under his wing and a hideout for Penny to remain hidden from the public eye.

We just took the last ship into Vale.

Which meant...

There's no turning back.

The Fall is happening come the morrow and we have less than 24 hours to do something about it.

_This... will suck. _I sighed internally.

We came to a complete halt in front of a tall chamber at the end of the room that had a solid block of steel with hinges on either sides.

The vault looked like an overly secured refrigerator with the intention that what's inside was never used.

As Evans stopped by a small panel in front of it, he flipped the cover open and started to input the password.

A flicker of a fast moving shadow caught the corner of my eye.

_CLANG_

"Sneaky as ever." I grit through my teeth as the boys jumped back in panic. "Good to know the security of the lab is in good hands."

The girl threw her pink and black hair behind her shoulders as she shot me her usual unreadable smug smirk, bowing dramatically as if thanking me for the clash while I retracted Obisidan Nova back to it's hilt.

She sheathed her blade into her parasol with a loud rasp as she eyed the men, hinting that anybody looking at her funny would have their throat slit.

It locked shut with an audible click and the boys all sagged in relief.

"Everybody, this is Neo." I introduced for the sake of Kevin and Adrian. "She's..."

"Best girl!" Dwiki cried.

"An assassin..." I continued as Dwiki scanned Neo up and down, stopping at her exposed hips as both eyes gleamed and let out a squeal of glee.

Neo raised her head to peek over my shoulders as she tiptoed on her heels and raised a brow.

"She was and still is working with the bad guys, and this is a temporary alliance at most. But eh... something tells me that'll change soon." Evans shrugged.

"Can we trust her?" Kevin raised a brow.

"An orphaned psychopath that was raised by Vale's most wanted crook?" The shaggy man asked as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Sure, why not."

"Neo huh?" Adrian approached the girl as he dug deep into the pockets of his hoodie.

"Adrian, what are yo-"

He opened his hand.

"You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe what you want to believe."

He opened his other palm.

"You take the red pill, and you stay in wonderland. And I show you how deep the rabbit hole go-"

_SMACK_

_WHACK_

"Wrong Neo!" Both me and Evans yelled as Adrian massaged the back of his head. "Also, don't take those!" I said as I smacked the drugs out of her hands. "They're probably aphrodisiacs or ecstasy."

Neo's eyes blinked rapidly, alternating between pink and brown, and even white at some point, just like how she did when she was caught off guard by Raven on the train.

She scanned the faces, then pointed to them, herself, her scroll, then jabbed a finger at the floor. She then raised her brow and pouted.

"Yes Neo, we do need you here, and no, they're not bad guys or mercenaries per se, just really bad at making life choices, and yes, I still need your help to execute this plan. You're needed."

She jabbed her thumb in Dwiki's direction, who was still staring at her hips, then the space in between. I could see something shifting in his pants and pretended I never saw anything. It didn't take a genius to tell that his mind was going down the gutter.

"Yeah, I know he can be a pain, just deal with him for a bit. Knowing how skilled you are you shouldn't have a problem defending yourself."

She traced a line across her throat.

I sighed.

"No, no matter how utterly useless he is, don't kill of him."

She pointed at a trash can.

"Yes, I know you can be very good at disposing bodies without a trace, but that's not what we need you here for."

She raised her brow.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You speak mute?" Kevin asked.

"No, I speak Neo." I clarified as I turned away.

She caught Dwiki giving her a perverted smirk as he smacked his lips hungrily, then moistened them against one another with his tounge.

Neo smirked back in return.

Dwiki took one step forward.

Her image shattered as he found the length of her parasol on his neck and a pressing weight pushing on the back of his spine.

"Hey, you asked for it." I sighed as Dwiki strutted backwards with his hands grasping thin air, attempting to get the object off his throat as he choked away.

"Done." Evans announced.

The large chamber split down the middle with an eerie crimson glow, then it hissed and whirred as the 2 massive doors swung open with a click-click-click.

"Hmmm..." Kevin took one glance at the glinting black steel, and once the doors opened wider to completely reveal what was held within, he stared with wide eyes, then looked towards Evans, me, then spat at the ground. "Fuck."

"Forget it, I'm not tossing you a coin." I replied as I strode forward to marvel at it.

"You can't be serious." Kevin pointed at the shiny metal armour that was hanging low, held together by industrial chains. "_This_ is your backup plan? Are you sure it even works?"

"Nope." Evans popped. "That's exactly what I told him before we even got here. It's not ready yet."

"How are we even sure this is gonna work exactly like Berserk?" Kevin jabbed a finger into my chest. "You're no Guts!"

"Yeah... " I smiled faintly as I clenched my fists. "Not yet, but I could be..."

"You're planning to use it, aren't you?" The rotund man scoffed. "That... thing."

"If all it could do is give me anger issues, tease me of lust, and the occasional sense of bloodlust, then I might as well use it for good, even if it's just this once." I explained. "It'll work. Only I can pull this off."

"And what if it fails?" He challenged. "What if it fails and you die trying?"

"Then I'll die satisfied knowing I tried my best." I smiled bitterly. "It's all I have."

"Urrgh..." Kevin pinched the space between his eyes. "How does it even work? I doubt there's the magic seal that attracts any and every demon emblazoned into that."

"Similar." I continued. "Instead of doing it with 'magic', it's basically an amplifier for emotions. StarDust will be injected into my cerebral cortex from behind." I tapped at the back of my neck. "It will then spread through the membrane and merge into the brain stem and regulate, triggering a hella lot of bad memories. Once that's done, it'll start to produce dopamine, which tells my brain that having bad memories is a good thing, and produce even more or leave it on repeat, putting it in an infinite loop. Finally, when nothing but rage, bloodlust and madness remains, it gets amplified with a hundred times more intensity, projecting negative emotions across Remenant like a drop of blood in an ocean of shark infested waters."

"How can you be so sure you could handle them all?" The rotund man scoffed sarcastically. "You're no better then an average Hunstman with knowledge on the show, doesn't mean you suddenly have the stamina or the skillset to just plow through an army."

"It works like how it does in Berserk, down to the bone." Evans sighed, rubbing his temples. "So he'll be impaled by spikes, and won't stop fighting until he can't."

"Define _can't_." Kevin's brow furrowed.

"Every bone in his body is broken, every ligament, torn, every nerve, numbed and controlled."

"So basically you're a puppet waiting to get your string's cut."

"Mhmm..." Evans agreed as they both turned to me. "The suit detects the damage done and reinforces them with dust tipped spikes. Muscles will be injected so that they'll produce less lactic acid to prevent cramping, while broken bones... well, you know the rest."

"Why would you invent such a thing?!" Kevin shouted as he walked up to my face. "It's self mutilation at best, and not to mention super fucking dangerous!"

"I told him that." Evans sighed.

"And you." He turned to face Evans. "Why did you even agreed to build it in the first place?"

"Because I forced him to."

"What?!"

"I forced him to." I echoed flatly as black eyes met brown. "I needed a last resort to turn to. A contingency plan. Just like how Ozpin's contingency was to transfer the maiden's powers into a perfect candidate, I- no, we, needed a trump card to rely on."

"And this is your fucking trump card? Your stupid ace in the hole?" He challenged. "You could've built anything else. A particle canon."

"Wastes too much dust in the shortest span of time possible."

"A Megazord!"

"Too impractical and too bulky to control, movements too sluggish."

"A Terminator!"

"The closest thing we have to that is Penny, and we're not sacrificing her." I gazed coldly into his eyes. "Replaceable or not, she is human, and our friend."

"So your great backup plan was just to go drive yourself insane, commit mass genocide and then bleed to death?!"

"Yup." I popped nonchalantly.

"I... may have- no, scratch that. I may as well be his only way out of his crazed state." Evans admitted as he stared down at his hands. "My.. Sembelance."

"Don't you fucking dare try." I growled as my eyes snapped to his. "You know that thing isn't just gonna let you go. And to make things worse, it knows you by heart."

"So that's it then?" The rotund man laughed hoarsely with a ton of bite hidden behind it. "You're just off to kill yourself."

"What's a life compared to many?"

"Excuse me?!"

"It was made specifically for the endgame Kev!" I yelled back. "There's no way anybody could get a straight shot at Salem without a distraction. SHE IS FUCKING IMMORTAL! Combine that, and the power to summon hordes of Grimm at will, and what chances do you think you have?! Only I could be the lure and you. Know. This!" Every one of those last words was sent with a finger jab through his chest.

"And what good is it if you use it now?! Do you even think of what it does it to you afterwards? Have you even thought about that?" Kevin swiped the air across with his hands. "Let's say you survive, what happens afterwards?! You could be mentally or physically jarred with no hope of recovering!"

"And what good does that do iF TEAM RWBY DIES?!"

Kevin's jaw clammed shut.

"They mean everything to me Kev!" I roared, lumbering forward and making Kevin take a step back as my chest rose and fell. "This isn't the show! People can die! People can get hurt! It's not just the bond I got by spending a year here! I genuinely care for them! I care for their lives! We're teleported in a world where we have a chance to stop something as devastating as Chernobyl. There's no guarantee that there's a life after this where we can return back or be reincarnated back into this pre Fall like Re Zero! Hell. I don't think there even are any resets." I spat in his face. "So I sure as hell ain't gonna waste this chance."

"You said I had your full support." I made sure to jam my finger into his chest as I said those words as slowly and as threateningly clear as possible. "Now, do I have it, or do I not? Me and Evans can do this on our own just fine if needs be."

"Tch..." Kevin spat on the ground as he looked to Evans, who shrugged defeatedly. "You better know what you're doing." He glanced over his shoulder. "Otherwise, the enemies aren't the only ones you're gonna have to deal with after this concludes."

_ Evans's POV_

_I have to do this right._

_Even a millimeter off, and I can kill Louis._

_..._

_..._

_Well..._

_Permanently._

_No pressure._

_Wait for him to charge in, use Purge... and..._

Evans's eyes narrowed, his right foot digging into the ground, causing a small cloud of dust kicked up.

A sleight of hand, as Louis's hand swiped upwards into motion and disguising it as a reverse grip, landing on his chest while he tilted his body at an angle so that his back faced towards the camera that was currently livestreaming this battle throughout Remenant.

_There!_

Regulating the amount of voltage required, the rings around White Knuckle Ride dimmed, the humming nothing but a hushed whisper as Evans reeled back his fist.

_Hope this isn't too much for you to handle. This will sting a bit..._

Time seemed to slow down as Louis approached in slow motion. His eyes widened slightly as he was but a few feet away, loosely hanging on to the hilts of his weapon while his pupils darted from side to side.

_Emerald's using her illusions again huh? __Well that's a one in a million._ Evans scoffed off internally as his fist connected to his best friend's sternum.

The air was blown out of his chest as his pupils shrunk. His upper body slumped forwards as spittle and a few drops of blood flew out of his mouth.

"Aaaughhh..." He groaned as Evans retracted his fist.

A small crackle of electricity was sent as Louis's body convulsed, then fell on his chest face first with a loud thud.

"LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUIIIIIS!" Ruby screamed from the spectator seats.

_Ugh... sorry Ruby. _Evans thought as he stared at the ground.

_Hang on my friend._

_Just a little while longer._

"Are you not entertained?!"

_Later..._

"Get him here, quick!" Evans waved over as the paramedics, a black haired girl with lime green eyes and a rotund man came in rushing with a stretcher between them.

"You sure you know how to defib?" Kevin asked with a raised brow as he set the body down.

"Nope." Evans rubbed both palms together as arcs of electricity and sparks flew between White Knuckle Ride. It's cyan rings glowed fiercely. "CLEAR!"

Louis's body jumped.

_No sign of eye fluttering or breathing. _Evans determined after putting an ear to his nose and opening his eyelids.

"CLEAR!"

Again, another jolt sent his body up a feet, and thudded back down with no other reaction.

"Maybe the voltage isn't high enough. Crank it up!"

"This is the furthest I can crank it up to!" Evans snapped back. "Any higher and both his heart and his lungs will explode or char!"

Kevin grit his teeth while Neo fiddled with her parasol.

"Maybe you just aren't doing it right." Adrian said. "Here, let me-"

"NO!" Evans yelled as he turned around, halting Adrian with one hand, while the other landed on his friend's chest.

"GAAAAAAUUFFH!" Louis gulped for air as he sat upright, only to slam back down as he tried to take in as much air as possible. "Hah... hah..."

"Okay, maybe I was using too much instead of too little." Evans murmured as he placed his weapon on the passanger's seat.

"Hey you," Kevin was on Louis's side the instant his eyes fluttered, pupils darting from side to side from the literal shock therapy he'd been given. "You're finally awake."

_Louis's POV_

_"Wake the fuck up samurai. We have a city to burn." _

_That..._

_Sounded like Evans..._

"De...pends..." I replied as the sudden burning of my lungs had me flinching while I used one hand behind me to prop myself upright. "Is it gonna be... breathtaking?"

"That, brother, is up to you." Evans became clear as my vision focused back to it's prime from being a blurry mess. "How're things on the other side?"

"Dark." I answered, still regulating my lungs for air.

"Glad to have you back with us then."

"If you didn't bring me back I would've killed you myself." I said as I swung my legs over the edge of the stretcher. "Also, Hanzo." I deadpanned. "Really?"

"I might've uhh..." He laughed awkwardly at my expression and scratched the back of his head. "Gotten carried away by the moment."

"Doesn't matter, now the whole of Remenant is confused with what my name is." I sighed. "The armour?"

"In the airship with Penny and her dad at the ready to leave for Mount Glenn." Evans replied. "You're forgetting a little something, aren't you?"

"Oh, right..." I said as I looked at short girl with the paramedic outfit. "You're up Neo."

Dazzling light covered her whole form, then it seemed to solidify as a perfect sheen covering her body, then exploded outwards, sending shards of light that bounced harmlessly off of us.

When we dropped out arms and made to look, Neo was back in her usual clothing with her signature parasol slung over her shoulder.

She nodded, then walked up to me. Being only a foot apart, she tiptoed, and caressed my cheek with the palm of her hand.

Light engulfed her once more, and it morphed, just like a Pokemon evolving, growing taller in stature, more masculine.

Once it shimmered away with a light twinkle, nothing but the mirror image of myself remained.

Only one thing remained out of place however, that being my eye colours were pink and brown instead of the usual dark pupils I have.

But other then that...

"It's... perfect." I said, looking at the toned abs, the decently buff arms and legs which were common in any hunstman trainee. "Very accurate. I'm surprised."

"Oh y-yeah..." Evans clamped his mouth with boths hands. "D-definitely accurate alright..."

"The hell are you laughing-"

I glanced below the waist line.

"Really?" I deadpanned.

She wore the best shit eating grin which I would have never able mirror to date. Suit's Evans personality more.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes as I made space in the cramped space for Neo to walk past.

She sashayed over without even glancing back, which... seemed super wrong and off-putting since I was looking at my own bare form.

Neo-me then laid on the bed, and linked both her hands behind her neck. Then, she crossed one leg over another, waving her hips from side to side and caused my... thing... to wave from side to side.

"We don't have time for this Neo." I sighed as I tried not to look at the not so flattering sight she was exposing body at. "Get on with it."

A simple tap on my shoulder caused me to jolt and turn around to see Neo in her regular outfit already there.

When I made to turn back, I was looking at myself, eyes closed, expression stoic and lifeless, with a blanket covering below the waist and everything under.

Holes were placed in my chest, which had both the width and the depth of a thumb, perfectly giving off the message that Evans had killed me brutally.

"What... H-how? When?" I raised my brow, while Neo just shrugged it off with an innocent smile.

"Ugh, nevermind. Anyway, your part is done here. Just make sure you place this below the master control panel on the ship the moment Roman lets you into the pilot's chambers." I said as I handed her one of Evans's spikes. "Then, you two can go wherever you want. You're both free now."

She took it in between her thumb and pointer, raised a brow and shook it close to her ear. It rattled and the blue rings pulsated.

"Make sure you teleport out as the ship is flying over Beacon Tower. That's a powerful EMP you're holding right there. All you need to do is just stick it where Roman can't see it." I explained. "We will handle the rest."

She looked to me, bobbed her head once, then blinked out.

"Well, that's that." I sighed as I caught the clothes Evans handed over. "That's half the battle. Now time for-"

Before I could make it out, she blinked back in.

"What's wrong? You forgot someth-"

My words died in my mouth as Neo tiptoed closer then I would've liked, and closed her eyes.

I felt something warm and wet touch near my lips, but purposefully shifted so that the majority of it landed on the side of my face.

Her soft tongue then caressed it, before she suddenly pulled back and giggled silently with a small blush on her face.

Neo mouthed 'Thank you'.

Before I could give a proper response, she blinked out of existence.

"Well..." Evans gaped and blinked owlishly. "That was a thing."

"What do you think that was for?" Kevin questioned, genuinely confused.

"Probably for saving her foster dad." Evans shrugged as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"Huh." My fingers landed on the edge of my lips and traced it. "She has the ability to be grateful after all. Who knew."

_Present Day_

"So yeah, I died, but he brought me back to life, so it's all well and good."

Of course, I left out the part of where Neo thanked me, and thanked the lord Evans or Kevin didn't brought it up.

"You_ knew_ for a fact that he would be able to bring you back?" Blake asked with a raised brow, gaining exchanged glances and shrugs in return. "It sounds... sketchy."

"It is." I admitted.

"I thought you trusted us to watch your back!" Yang glowered as she swiped a palm across the air.

"I do." I replied as calmly as I could. "But trust Evans with my life, and I mean it quite literally," I added quickly as the 3 members of Team RWBY made to complain. "As in I trust my life to be put in his hands. Evans taketh, and Evans giveth back."

"That's..." Blake looked towards the other two, who's expressions were mixed between horrified and disdain. "So... you didn't tell us because you didn't trust that we could pull it off."

"Yup."

The reply seemed to have caught them off guard, their expressions hurt as if a knife had just been rammed and twisted into their chests.

"So this entire year, you've been playing us for fools..." Yang laughed bitterly. "The team meant nothing to you..."

"The team does mean something to me." I answered back. "It still doe-"

"BULLSHIT!" Yang roared and lumbered ahead, causing Team JNPR to get up and restrain the brawler. "YOU PLAYED US!"

"I wouldn't be the first." I sighed and gestured for them to let her go. "But I would rather play you instead of watching you fall in pieces, and I'm not talking about the Fall of Beacon."

Yang crossed her arms and dragged her seat so that she was close enough to grab me should I say something wrong.

"Explain." She demanded.

"What is there to explain?" I sighed, then a quick glance showed her eyes were now crimson. Crossing my arms and staring her dead in the eyes, I said. "Because you all know of the Fall before it happened, you guys got overprotective and paranoid. That's a good thing." I added before Yang or the others could cut in. "However... In doing so, and in having Yang face the finals in place of me, you guys would be paranoid enough to keep scanning the crowd for the perpetrator, searching for the one responsible. Sooner or later, you'll find them as they stand out in the crowd, Mercury, Emerald and Cinder. They're not dumb. They'll notice immediately that something is off the moment you even make eye contact with them."

"So?" Yang raised a brow. "We could've taken them down even earlier. Had you told us before, we could've prevented it by talking to Ozpin-"

"And having their team arrested by Hunstman and Huntresses, and then we all live happily ever after, am I right?" I snarked, getting the blonde brawler to gnash her teeth together, but made no move towards me. "You think Cinder is the end of your problems, but you're clearly not seeing the bigger picture."

"Isn't she supposed to be?" Blake asked in place of her partner, who was fuming mad. "I thought she was the one behind all this, the one in command, the top of the food chain. It was she who approached Adam and told him about my whereabouts."

"She's the one who defeated Ozpin... right?" Jaune said, while the rest of his team looked down helplessly. "The one who almost killed you and stole your powers..." He said as his eyes met Amber's.

"If only you'd knew." I sighed. "You're not facing just against a powerful half Maiden that spits out fireballs. You saw that for yourself."

"Arthur Watts..." Ruby muttered silently. "Tyrian Callows..."

"Hazel Rainhart." Amber added. "I was facing him separately at the other side of Beacon Tower. He was sent to pursue me."

Yang cursed under her breath. "So, there are four of them. So what?!" She got up as the barstool scraped against the ground.

"Yang..." Ruby groaned as Pyrhha finally untangled her.

"Four that we know of." Kevin added.

"Her followers..." Blake muttered.

"Nope." I popped, gaining their attention. "They're at the same level in terms of the hierarchy. The one you're really going for, the solution to all your problems, her name..." I snarled.

"Is Salem."

**A/N**

**Well, this Epilouge is extending longer then I thought it would. Believe me, I'm not trying to expand it, it just... happens.**

**Any shorter and I don't think the chapter would flow nicely.**

**Also, people are only reviewing now that they gave up before the Fall happened because they didn't like how it started off.**

**Oh well. What's done is done.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**ZmbMadragon: Lemme know what you think on chaps. Appreciate the Reviews if you have any QnA or smth.**

**paradox0.5white: Ah.**

**DankAnon: Ooooh... omake idea right there. Thanks! Never liked the movie series, just figured a fancy name for it.**


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N**

**There will be bolded music in this one, as in, it literally coincides with the story, for the text will be the lyrics or... most of it anyway, tho pacing will of course be different. Again, use it or not, just a recommendation thing I came up with out of a whim. If you guys can't concentrate while listening to music. It's cool.**

"I-I did good, y-yes?" Tyrian trembled as he knelt down on both knees, his hands clasped together as if in a prayer as he bent his back completely. His back itched from where his tail once was, but made no move to reach for, or even acknowledge it. "T-tell me, did I please you?"

"Goddess, please!" He begged. "Please give me another chance!"

The divine presence in the room didn't even glance down, wearing a bored expression as she propped her chin on one hand up on her chair. Her leg shifted, but that was less than visible on the outside. Her black drapes seemed to defy gravity, if only a little, as it floated and hovered above ground a foot or two, torn and tapered on the edges as it flapped aimlessly.

"G-goddess?"

Even as he begged on his knees, face nearly touching the ground as he pleaded, the pale figure wreathed in black didn't even glance his way.

The crazed man's threw his head back, bending his spine in an uncanny angle to let out a shrill and anguished screech as he stared defeatedly towards the ceiling and crumpled on his knees.

With both hands, he grabbed his face, his eye peeking over the space between his pinkie and ring finger as tears cascaded down the sides of his face.

Without warning, he then used the long table as a stepping stone as he scampered off the walls of the chamber. His boot marks smeared mud and sand across the glass windows, leaving it to dribble down with a soft squelch as he escaped through the doorway.

"Well," Arthur stated as he stared out the large ornate doors. "That was-"

"**Silence.**"

Everybody present stiffened.

"**Tell me,"** Salem slowly stood up, then, she seemed to hover from her seat and stopped by the edge of the room. She gazed out the windows that overlooked the neverending spawning of Grimm from the black viscous pools. "**How did you all fail, oh so miserably?**" The pale woman's neck seemed to snap in their direction, her gleaming red eyes sharp and unrelenting, boring into every single being currently sat in the room, before returning to her initial posture, linking her hands behind her back and turning her gaze to the barren landscape.

"**Was it a mistake to have taken too many under my wing?**" She asked herself as her pupils eyed a muscular Beringel shaking off the black mud, scraping any residue left off it's bone mask with one beefy arm. "**Is this the quality of work that I should be expecting coming from your current generation? Does a dog not know how to obey, even after being fed aplenty? Was being under my protection, my home, my roof, and my land, not modesty enough? To add on to that, under the protection and support of creatures your kind so clearly struggle against from the beginning of time? Is this all not enough to sate your selfish desires?**"

"Your grace, I-"

Arthur didn't get any further. His face instantly slammed into the table, causing him to clutch his now bleeding nose. He grit his teeth, and forced down a curse as one eye popped open in pain.

Mercury winced while Emerald jumped back and unbuckled her weapon from reflexes alone.

A black tendril slithered as it retracted, sliding off his neck and into the swirling black pool below. It chittered, before the dark portal closed with a malicious hiss.

What remained was the same dark purple tiled ground, as if nothing was there in the first place.

"**Did I give you permission to speak?**" Salem asked.

"N-no, your grace."

"**Then why did you disobey?**"

"My apologies your grace." He said as calm as he could while he wiped his nose with a burgundy colored napkin which he pulled out of his breastpocket. If he was caught of guard by it, it wasn't visible on his face, just like how his blood wasn't visible on his napkin. "It will not happen again."

"**See to it that it does not.**" Salem agreed without looking back, then continued to look out the window, her focus narrowed on her own reflection.

After a moment of long silence, Mercury and Emerald both shifted in their places uneasily. Both of them chose to stand by Cinder for either the sake of her security or their own.

"**Cinder.**" Salem's voice called out, piercing the silence.

"Yes, Your holiness?" Cinder dared to look up.

"**How?**" She asked without turning back once, her voice resonating through the tall room. "**Even after allowing you to bring along added support, not to mention relying on a complete and unpredictable stranger, how had you failed to bring me results?**"

"I..." Cinder glanced at Hazel for support, but the burly man had his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he faced down at the table, while the Atlesian scientist sat silently and looked to her, not seeming keen on helping her explain.

She further confirmed that suspicion by nodding over to Salem herself, the moustached man not wanting to open his mouth lest he wanted his skull to be split open in two.

"I have no excuses, your holiness. I have failed." Cinder hissed through her grit teeth, closing her eyes as she stared at the ground, as if a prisoner waiting for the guillotine to drop.

"**I did not ask you to confirm of your failure. I would have to ask you not to waste my time of things I already know.**" Salem's tone had an edge that told her that her patience was already at it's limit, despite being an immortal entity with no respect for time. "**I asked how.**" Her glare pierced Cinder's through her reflection. "**I will not, and shall not repeat myself.**"

"There was a new foe we faced." Cinder admitted, closing her eyes as she recalled it's appearance, how it had made her doubt herself both in her cunning strategies and combat abilities. "A foe we could not ever anticipate to neither encounter nor defeat. Some kind of... of hybrid."

"**Even with half of the Maiden's powers?**" Salem raised a brow, curiosity visible through Cinder's eyes by the pale woman's reflection. "**That sounds unlikely. Not to mention you have the assistance of both Arthur and Tyrian at the time.**"

"Your grace, if I may."

"**You may.**" Salem allowed with a wave of a hand, getting Arthur's shoulders to relax as he expected another assault.

"I can confirm on my behalf that this thing was indeed, a formidable foe." The Atlesian man admitted, and a quick glance towards Cinder telling her that he's doing this for both their sakes, and not her own. "It managed to stand up against the 3 of us along with the owner of the sword I brought to you not 2 weeks ago. I doubt Hazel's involvement would make much of a difference."

"**And you said the current Fall Maiden awoke to assist such a mindless creature?**"

Cinder gnashed her teeth so hard they might've shattered. That power could have been hers, would have, if it wasn't for that... that thing!

"Not assist." Arthur answered, choosing to ignore Cinder despite noticing. Unsaid, was the fact that the woman before her produces creatures of similar characteristics. "She was _saved_ by it. And went on a complete rampage the moment the girl with silver eyes had been stabbed by a sword."

"**She lives?**"

Salem's tone remained calm and unreadable, though everybody could tell by the way her shoulders rose and fell and the bated breath that went out her nostrils that it was said with barely restrained scorn.

Nobody dared cross her unimpeded wrath.

"**It doesn't matter.**" She finally said after what seemed like a few minutes of dead silence, causing Emerald's shoulders to relax, and Mercury to release a breath he didn't know he was holding. "**What of Ozpin?**"

"Dead." Cinder confirmed as she looked into Salem's eyes. "I saw the body. Burnt to a crisp."

Salem's gaze pierced hers, but made no move to advance. After a long pause, she turned to the Atlesian scientist.

"**Arthur.**"

"Yes, your grace?

"**Make Tyrian a new tail, make sure he gets accustomed to it _soon_," **The way she stated it made it clear he didn't have long. **"And assure the one with silver eyes gets brought to me _alive_. Whatever. It. Takes.**" Those last words were delivered with a tone that told Arthur that should he fail, there will be no further redemption or forgiveness from his overstayed welcome, and what awaited him was something worse than death.

"If it is in your deepest desires, then I shall see it done."

"**Good.**" She turned to the lumbering man that seems to be in a meditative state of calm. "**Hazel.**"

"Yes, my liege?"

"**The one called _Evans,_"** She felt the words roll off her tongue, and tasted it."**Seek him out, and see to it that our new member makes it to the Land of Darkness safe. If he so wishes to assist us in our cause and is clearly able to kill for it, being a Seer, his arrival is best not delayed. I shall see for myself to determine if his skills are worth even putting him on the board.**"

"As you wish."

_Cinder's POV_

"**Cinder.**" She called out once both men are out of the room.

Both Emerald and Mercury stiffened.

"Yes your holiness?"

"**Your objective as of today, has changed. You shall seek out the Relic at Haven first. Get in touch with Leonardo Lionheart and seek out the Spring Maiden to unlock the vault. It is the closest by far from the Land of Darkness.**"

"What of the Fall-"

"**Forget about it.**" Salem said with nothing but a hushed whisper, but with it's firmness it somehow resonated around the room, causing Emerald to gulp and Mercury on edge, ready to take her and bolt.

"My Queen, I do not doubt your judgment." Cinder said carefully, sharp eyes focused on any sudden movements the ancient entity before her might make. "But I believe that if I want to assist you at my prime, the powers of the Fall maiden should still remain my utmost priority. Only then could I be on par against someone as powerful as Ozpin. The other headmasters won't make it easy."

Leo had been able to come along peacefully out of fear, Ozpin was dead by, as much as she hate to admit it, dumb luck. Had the students not been there he would've been able to go all out and kill her with the assistance of that Nikos brat. Ironwood is as stubborn as a rock, and there was no way in Remenant he would join their cause, not to mention who she would have to face in Vacuo.

"**You are correct.**"

Cinder's eye lit up.

"**However,** **our end goal remains as it always had been." **Salem said as she made her way across, causing both her lackeys to take a step back. **"If we keep going in a certain direction, you'll cross paths and run into her sooner or later.**" Her razor sharp nails made their way past her cheek, and her palm trailed down the side of her face.

It was as cold as ice, causing the feeling of a burning frostbite not a few seconds after they made contact.

"**You will do as I say, no?**" Her fingers clutched her chin, the tip of her fingernails grazing her Aura and then, punctured it, causing the skin under her neck to let out a trickle of blood.

"Y-yes..." Cinder struggled to get out.

"**Good.**" Salem released her grasp, and immediately Cinder took in a deep breath and rubbed her throat where she was pierced. "**Leave.**" Salem commanded. "**Now.**"

Mercury took one look at Emerald, and they lifted their employer by her shoulders, escorting Cinder out.

_Shift_

Salem turned back to gazing at her life's work.

"**Such incompetence our kind had become.**" The pale woman, baring her fangs for a moment, before her alabaster lips returned into a thin line.

"**What are you planning Ozma...?**" She asked as she looked out the window, though it's obvious that her mind wasn't in it. "**Who is this new piece on the board? Am I not punishment enough for you to learn from?" **Salem's let out a harsh breath as she closed her eyes.

**"Just what other monster have you brought upon this world?**"

_Louis's POV_

"A Queen of Grimm?" Pyrrha gasped, green eyes wide and bewildered. "That's not possible! The Grimm bow to no one! They are mindless."

"No one you know of." I corrected. "Until today."

"Why tell us this now?" Her boyfriend asked from beside her, his gaze and expression telling me he was undecided on the hard facts we bombarded them with. "What could we- what could mankind do against something like that...?"

"Would you rather not know at all?" I questioned as I turned to the blonde knight. "I thought it would be best you knew who's in charge."

"Salem..." Ruby tasted the name as she paced around the room and grimaced as she realized something. "She was the one who got mom killed..."

"Now Ruby..." I raised a brow when she looked around the room. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..." She mumbled as she sat down at the foot of the bed and dangled her feet over the edge. "You were saying?"

"I was saying..." I slowly tore my gaze away from her to look at the others, though keeping her... weird actions at my peripheral. "She's more responsible then more than just your mom's death, she's responsible for a lot of liv-"

Ruby winced and looked around the room again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-yeah!" She hopped off the bed and flexed one of her small arms and tapped it. "Strong as ever! See?!"

"My... apologies." I looked sadly into her eyes as I realized that I might've triggered her PTSD. "I shouldn't have talked about Summer so openly. I didn't consider your feelings." I tried hard to bend forward, despite my back aching. "I'm sorry."

"I-it's okay!" She waved off frantically. "I might just need some fresh air, that's all!"

"Do you need company?"

"No, it's alright!" She said quickly, before zipping out the door.

"The hell was that about?" Kevin asked as he wore a curious expression.

"No idea." Amber shrugged.

_Ruby's POV_

_That was close._

"_**Salem...**_"

_It's the same voice. The one from before..._

"Hello...?" Ruby said aloud with her back to the door. "Is... someone there?"

Silence.

Nothing but pure silence.

"Well... must've been my immagina-"

"_**Must...**_ _**Kill... Salem...**_"

"Eep!"

"Ruby...?"

"Get out of my he- Oh..." She scratched the back of her head as she spun around from her crouched position. "Hey Yang."

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing!"

"Rubes..." Yang sighed as she gently closed the door behind her. "I'm not your sister for nothing. I can tell when something is bothering you, just like how you were bothered with keeping your feelings hidden from Louis afraid to be turned down, but wanting him to know."

Ruby felt the heat rushing up to her cheeks, turning it a bright shade of pink.

"You got that out of the way through, I'm proud." In any normal circumstance, the blonde brawler would've given her a congratulatory smirk or pat her back with the strength to launch her across the room, or even a hug that'll bury Ruby in her bust, but this time her lips were set in a thin line, her eyes dead serious. "So since that isn't the case, not sure why you're so jittery and embarrassed. Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"I..." She linked both hands in front of her as she tore away her gaze. "I... don't know."

...

"Is it what Louis said, about this..." Yang rotated her wrist as she tried to recall what he said. "Queen of Grimm?"

"_**Salem...**_"

Ruby manage to swallow a wince behind a cough.

"Not that."

"Then it's about what Uncle Qrow said?" The buxom blonde put both hands on her shoulders, though she didn't specify what. "You handled it well, or so I was told." Yang rolled her eyes. "Even though Louis did save our asses there at the end, I'm sure the Dragon Grimm would've spotted you guys sooner or later, so Qrow putting all the blame on you is sorta unfair."

"Yang, it's not that-"

"Then what is it Rubes?

"_**Kill...**_"

"It's..." The small reaper sighed as she kicked the floor without much intention but to rid of her frustration. "It's... my own thing. I just... need some time to understand it."

...

"Is it that time of the month for you already?"

"What- no!" She pouted fiercely as her eyes snapped to meet lilac ones staring back down on her.

"Looks it." She smirked as she reached for the doorknob. "Come on, let's go back in. I need to listen to his complete reasoning as to why he's been so discreet before I have Nora break his legs."

"Yaaaaang..." Ruby complained.

_Louis's POV_

"Welcome back." I greeted the small reaper and the blonde brawler back with a nod and a faint smile. Ruby hid behind Yang with flushed cheeks and I could only assume their conversation went well.

It unwittingly reminded me of the not so pleasant conversation I'm about to have with Yang, since the whole tournament arc is over.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Salem couldn't be reasoned with, no amount of negotiation is going to convince her not to destroy mankind. She is Grimm, and unless we can find some voodoo that undoes that, we're stuck here fighting her minions for the rest of our generation, to the next."

"How do you plan to stop her?"

It was the blonde knight who asked, a skeptical thinker as always.

"I... do not." I admitted, causing them all to balk. "And unfortunately... neither does Ozpin."

"He knows of her existence?" Ren asked from beside, trying to soothe Jaune's back, that of whom just choked on some cold water.

"He does." I answered carefully. "But that is exactly why he must not know of ours."

"Your deal ol' headmaster may be older and wiser than most of you," Kevin stated. "But that doesn't make him infallible or untouchable. You'd all be wise to consider that."

"If he knows of our presence, our origins, he would most likely try to hunt us down to not only answer his questions which we don't have the answers to, but also hide us from the rest of the world, just like how he had with the Maidens." Amber explained. "There's no telling what he would do to silence us."

"Professor Ozpin wouldn't do that." Ruby chuckled mirthfully, before she cracked open her eyes to see everbody else meeting her simple gaze and returned it with a serious one. "ehe... Right...?"

"If he's willing to make a vessel out of the likely victor from the Vytal Tournament, what is to say he even has boundaries?" Jaune spat with a furious snarl.

"Jaune..."

"No Pyrrha, Jaune speaks the truth." I sighed, causing all their attention to gather on me. "Salem and Ozpin they've... they've been at odds for a long time." I explained to the best of my potential. "I do not wish to condemn him, for he is only doing what he believes is right. He'd grown desperate, back into a corner with his hands tied. And anybody in that situation would do nothing but lash out with whatever they have left."

"Are you saying he never had a plan?" The eastern gunman asked. "And that yours is better?'

"I'm saying his plan was destined to fail, and that mine works."

"Worked?" Yang laughed bitterly with an overly hoarse throat. "Yeah, that's one way to put it."

"Yaaaang." Ruby groaned. "We didn't- wouldn't, listen to what he had to say at the time. What else could he had done?"

"Not listening to me was part of it," I admitted, getting Yang to cross her arms under her breasts and let out a bated breath with a hiss, and Ruby to shoot me an apologetic shrug as if to ask 'What can you do about her? It's Yang.' "But I would never had allowed you guys to join us. What we did was out of desperation of our- my own." I amended after a quick look to Amber.

...

"When?" Jaune broke after what seemed like a full minute of silence.

"Hm?"

"When did you plan on telling them about this? About all of this? Salem, the contingency plan, the thing inside you?"

"You guys told them...?" I raised my brow and glared to my and my right, both of which looked away.

"There was no other way Lou." Amber said. "It was eating at you. They need to know."

"Jaune has a point." Blake agreed with a nod. "When? When were you planning to come back and tell us?"

My fingers clutched the white sheets tighter.

I couldn't meet her eyes.

It was the redhead champion who answered for me.

"He wasn't."

Everybody stared at her, then at me for confirmation.

"Everything has a story to it." I stated. "And in most stories, there are characters, and come with it, problems."

"The characters in the story are _defined_ by problems, they are _built_ by problems, and if the end of the story gets to see the light of day, _solve_, all of their problems," I stated as I made sure to bore this into their minds. "But rarely, are they _the_ problem."

_Flashback_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Evans confirmed. "I could-"

"You don't have a presence inside of you powerful enough to retain your sanity as you spiral into madness."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"After what we've been through? What does anymore?" I smirked as Evans secured the final gauntlet with a few clicks and a loud snap.

I waved my forearm to make sure there was nothing loose and stretched my arms to get used to the restraints and the additional weight that wearing the armour brought. Being used to fighting with lightweight weapons such as Obsidian Nova didn't help, but at least I could move in it. Once my helmet was put on and the suit activated, it was all going to change.

It wouldn't matter.

I won't be me.

"Besides, we never did anything by the book in our world, why start now?"

"You could die!"

"And they would live." I shrugged easily.

"Tch..." Evans grit his teeth. "Your main power source is here." he tapped at my jutting breastplate, which had thicker steel compared to the rest of my body. "It contains the StarDust that would regulate through the rest of the suit, acting as a battery and at the same time, life support. It's not that big in size, about the length and width of 2 USB's, but that's super compacted Dust so it'll sting a bit once you use the transmission function to lure in the Grimm."

"So about the size of the bullets that go in Ruby's rifle. Cool. How many charges do I get?"

"3." Evans replied with a scowl, not so confident in his own engineering and knowing the fact that his friend was about to suffer from it. "Once you let _it_ take over, a charge will be used and the StarDust in your chest will trigger at a frequency that only Grimm can hear, and transmit it all over Vale, luring the party to you. It'll keep the suit going for a while, just not indefinitely-"

He was cut off as the plane swerved to the right, causing the lot of us to lose balance and stagger, eventually piling us on top of one another and thanked our lucky stars that neither the hatch wasn't open, and that I wasn't the last to fall.

"The... fuck...?" I groaned from underneath the other two. "Professor, what happened?"

He made a very audible gulp.

"What the hell?" Evans asked after me when the Professor made no attempt to reply, and scrambled off me to gaze at the windows.

"Oh..."

"Oh?" I asked. "Is that a good thing?"

"You... might wanna take a look at-"

**ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

"Nevermind."

_The Dragon Grimm? It's here?_

"It didn't notice us?" I asked as both me and Kevin made to look out the windows. "How?"

"Commanded by Cinder I believe." Evans said. "It's priority is to make it to Beacon. Nothing can obstruct it's path now."

I cursed under my breath as I looked to Evans. "Does that mean that even with the armour's sonar, it won't be lured towards me?"

"I... have no idea." The shaggy man admitted as the Ancient Grimm moved further and further away. "You're not planning to take that thing on are you?"

"If I have to."

Evans looked like he regretted even making it in the first place as he found his eyes trailing over to the floor.

"Not everything is your burden to bear Lou."

"Guys..." Kevin said as he pointed at the Dragon, which is getting closer and closer to becoming nothing but a black dot in the horizon. "Is it just me? Or is it spawning more Grimm?"

"It's not just you." Evans sighed. "That thing spawns Grimm by spewing black pools as spawn points."

"Well..." He blinked owlishly in rapid succession. "The rain is definitely not blessed in Remenant." He then made to stand and cross his arms as he stared into my eyes. "It's now or never."

Evans felt the cold, gauntleted claw rest on his shoulder, for he looked up and his eyes met mine.

...

"If..." I grit my teeth. If I had to do this, I'd do it right. "If I lose myself and hurt the girls..." I clasped his hands around something. His eyes widened as he realized what it is. "Don't hesitate. Right through the chest."

"Lou, you know I can't!" He tossed Obsidian Nova on the floor with a furious snarl and jabbed his finger at my chestplate. "Even asking for you to do this on your own isn't something I want to do!"

"I know, but you can fight alongside me." I smiled as reassuringly as I could. "There's gonna be way too much Grimm for even White Knuckle Ride to handle. This.." I grabbed both black hilts to place it in his hands once more, and tapped it gently. "This is just a failsafe."

"Grh..." He grit his teeth, but eventually nodded and accepted it.

"Take care of the girls for me while I'm out. Please." I said, grasping his shoulder. "I'm trusting you with them from now onwards, okay?" I asked as he turned around, not giving me any response. "Adrian and the rest?"

"In position at Beacon, Friend Louis." Penny confirmed as she observed what seemed to be a tablet too large to be a scroll. "Friend Neo had teleported them to their respective positions. But you should be careful out there." She warned with a wave of a finger. "Friend Ruby would be very upset if you do not come back."

"Penny." I sighed. "I... I..." Green orbs eyed me curiously with the sweetest and most innocent smile as she cocked her head.

Well... second most.

"Be a good friend for Ruby okay?" I drew the ginger girl in for a hug, being careful to use my side lest I want to impale her with the sharp end of my breastplate. "And don't be afraid to make more. Her team will accept you, I just know it. That's what friends do. They accept, and once you're close enough, you'd watch each others backs, just like how you had with us." I smiled. "With Ruby."

"I... will miss you." She didn't cry, but I felt her arms wrapping tighter around my back.

"Me too." I chuckled as she went back to the cockpit.

"Kevin." The rotund man was oddly silent and breaking the awkwardness, I brought him for a quick hug and whispered in his ear. "If Evans can't do it, you'll have to. Promise me."

As I released him, I saw him nod subtly, leaving me satisfied. "I'm leaving the girls in your care." I gave a 2 finger salute. "Promise me you'll take care of them."

"Was there ever a doubt?" The rotund man chuckled. "I promise."

"We are approaching Mount Glenn." Penny's dad announced from the front of the plane. He sighed as he brought the plane to autopilot as the ship hovered idly.

"If you want me to be honest, never in all my days would I have expected to see my own research used against me." He growled with a deep raspy voice as he scratched his aged pale hair, marveling at the large armour up and down. "He didn't even tell me he'd made something like this till the last second." Pietro Polendina shot Evans a dirty look for that, but Evans just gave an annoyed shrug back as if he'd given up.

"Once Louis has his eyes set on something, he overcommits, not overthink." _Unlike a certain Headmaster_ remained unsaid. "If I didn't make it for him, he'd just find a way around it without informing us anyway."

"I am, however, grateful that you forewarned me about Penny's 'accident', and that you gave it your all to prevent it." The old man admitted as he took off his hat to grasp it in front of him. "I wouldn't want your efforts to go to waste, so be sure to prove me wrong and come back. You're not the only one fighting. Be sure to remember that."

"I thank you for everything you have done for us, Professor." I chuckled back, my voice resonating into an echo as I put my headpiece on. "You have my word that if I go down, I'm taking this suit down with me. Nobody would know it was you."

Evans shot me a dirty glare, and even Kevin frowned as the doors to the hatch opened with an eerie screech.

"You're not afraid." Penny mused.

"Trust me, I'm this close to pissing myself." I said as I pinched an 'Ok' sign.

"That suit does not come with a toilet."

"That's not what I... Nevermind." I said, shaking my head as my lips tugged into a small smile. "Point is, I've never been so afraid all my life. On Earth, the closest thing to this are oversleeping on my deadlines, and that's saying a lot." I looked outside into the failed city of Mount Glenn. "But if I don't do this now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

That made them clamp their mouths shut, waiting for me to do something.

I knelt on one knee, bending down in a marathon runner's position with one leg outstretched as I reached with one hand the stone cold floor.

"_For even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me._"

"Alright..." I breathed out nervously.

_Go time._

"Let's do this."

I bolted out of the plane and leapt.

My feet found solid ground a few seconds later as my legs slammed into the ground and formed 2 small craters, causing me to wince from within.

"Well..." I lifted my arms slowly, then my legs.

"Would you look at that, the one time suspension actually works." I twisted my toes just in case, causing it to scrape and clank against the concrete floor.

A loud howl piercing through the night told me I wasn't alone.

_Right... _

_Most of them went to Beacon, but that didn't mean all of them._

"Evans!" I yelled as I craned my neck to face up. "Time for a test run!"

No more words were exchanged as a loud thunk in the ground from behind me told me my weapon had arrived.

Lodged to the ground at a 90 degree angle, was nothing but a solid chunk of sharpened steel, spray painted jet black in the middle, and left unpolished where Evans had ground it down to a razor sharp edge, leaving it full of scratches.

There wasn't time anyway, and as long as it's usable-

I tugged it out of the ground as the entire girth rattled, feeling my muscles ache as the length of the blade slowly moved inch by inch.

It was as heavy as it looked.

_Damn... how does... Nora... even do this?! _I yelled as I finally managed to pry the dark steel out of it's place, only for me to wobble backwards and fall on my rear with a loud thud.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get anywhere with this." I said as the plane started to turn around in the direction it came from.

"Good luck!" Kevin shouted over the loud humming of the engines.

"Friend Ruby will be waiting for you!" Penny yelled after him. "Don't take too long!"

I waved back.

"H-hey, brother!" Evans yelled, visibly choking back a sob. "I'll race ya!"

"Bullshit!" I laughed as I laid my hand on one of the armour's chestplate. "You have a head start!"

The claws clenched against it, causing claw marks to appear before anything even began.

"Sorry guys."

I saw the crimson visors lit up before my very eyes, allowing me to see an Alpha Beowolf sniffing the air for potential prey, and felt an unbearable pain as thick Dust tipped spikes pierced the back of my neck.

I felt immense heat as something injected, forcing me to let out a pained howl as my vision swam and I saw a flash of red.

Then, nothing.

_Evans's POV_

"It is done."

"Evans-"

"Shut up and do your part." Evans said with teary eyes. "Make sure nobody touches the girls while I go possess the maiden."

"Hey man, I'm just saying if you need to let it out..." Kevin said sympathetically.

"I know, you'll be there." Evans managed a faint smile, and it instantly died. "But right now, we have a school to save."

_**?**__ POV_

I held out my hands to nothing but darkness surrounding me.

Grasping the air, I held it close to my chest, and took in a deep breath.

...

_Has it always been this empty inside?_

A shadow cast itself in front of me and it took a few seconds to register that it was my own, and that there was a faint glow from behind me.

Instantly, the room lit up with dazzling white light.

I appeared to be in a dome cinema of sorts, and what appeared to be rectangular monitors flickered to life, causing me to reel back and fall on my rear.

It took me a while to blink the spots out of my eyes and adjust with the antithetical change and even then, further outstretch an arm to shield my eyes from. Once I finalyl adjusted after a minute or two, I stared dumbfounded at them, and the first thing I did was gasp.

They showed of distant memories. Some fresh and recent, others trapped in my subconsciousness.

Most, I'd almost forgotten over my time in Remenant.

They sharpened into a vivid, yet hazy feeling that brought me back through memory lane.

The first thing I sought out was one where I saw me and my family having a picnic in a grassy plain overlooking large clouds that puffed up like cotton candy, lazily swimming through the skies like a school of fish in the sea. The sun was already setting, and I was laughing.

My eyes darted to another, showing me a memory of when I and Evans were but children, running around and chasing each other in a game of tag by a fish pond. It felt so long ago, yet I remembered it as if it was just yesterday. I tumbled as I was pushed in, coming out all wet and accusing him of being a cheater.

_Hmph... that bastard. _I chuckled.

Then... my eyes hovered to the more recent memories here in Remenant, where Blake was in front of me, refusing to eat her fish and chips even though she stole a couple of glances at it. The square-bound monitors beside it showed her happily munching on some tuna at the cafeteria, giving the most adorable face I've ever seen her made as she claimed it's freshness. 2 down, Ruby was happily licking her ice cream, pouting cutely at me for warning her it wasn't good for her of a disease she'd never heard of.

To it's left, Yang kicking my ass during a spar as she put me in a headlock, and almost breaking my neck as I called my defeat, and above it, showed Weiss was lecturing me with some history of Remenant back by the table in our dorms.

And then...

Simultaneously, they all seemingly froze in place.

None of the moments on the screens lined up in any particular pattern as far as my eyes can see.

The videos they play all just stopped in random moments, causing me to question what just happened.

And then I heard it.

"Hm?" I asked myself as I scanned the area. Nothing but the vast expanse of darkness, except for the screens being the only sources of light.

A low rumble caused me to glance over to the dark floor, where slowly, a crimson orb then rose out of the ground and popped out, causing the once dark floor to bulge and stand out as the air tinted with a dark red hue.

It sleazily looked at me.

Observing me.

Judging me.

Thinking of eating me.

Slowly, the magnitude grew as I felt the tectonic plates shift beneath me with an audible shatter, causing me to lose all my balance and fall on my knees.

The air was no longer breathable.

I doubled over from the overwhelming miasma, as if I was surrounded in a sea of bodies and was inhaling straight from the mouth of a rotting corpse, and gravity just multiplied tenfold.

No, not gravity, I know how multiplied gravity felt like thanks to the courtesy of Miss Goodwitch.

It was as if my hands were glued to the ground and my body, just like the monitors, was frozen in place.

When I looked at the ground, I saw the reason why.

The ground had already swallowed my palm, engulfing it in what felt like black tinted cement, anchoring me in place.

I retched as most of the air was pushed out of my lungs, but despite all odds, I forced my eyes to look at the sludge that was taking form just a few meters away from where I was.

**[Devil may cry 3- Cerberus battle theme]**

One by one, the screens started to buzz noisily and flicker harshly, most of them ending in white noise while the others lay desaturated.

I forced myself to look away, for each and every time I decide to stare and blink, it'll cause me to see stars that further distorts the figure taking form before me.

The gelatinous figure slowly took shape, crimson eyes splitting in two as it went to either sides of it's lupine cranium as a sharp snout took form. It rid off the remaining black liquid that had the consistency of mud as it's huge paw detached completely out of the ground, and when it slammed down, no longer was it a singular entity.

It was standing on solid ground, not even bothered to have ripped itself out while leaving no traces behind. It swayed it's mane from side to side, then an audible crack told me that was to work some kinks out of it's neck.

The very ground it stood on was seamlessly black, the air felt heavy and musky. It vibrated along with every exhale it took to snort some hot puff of air to my face.

"**You got nothin' and nothin's got you,"** It claimed with a deep snarl that seemed to reverberate from it's throat.. **"I can see your fear, it surrounds you..."**

**"Built with strife and insight, but it's not enough." **It lumbered, circling me so close that I could feel the scalding heat resonating off it's fur.** "I'll defeat and discreet your every move."**

**"Instinctual," **I found myself standing and held in front of me, was a small black dagger. **"Just take your life. One. Step. One. Breath, you're under my knife."**

**"Killing slow is the way I conquer." **The black creature disappeared from sight.** "The torture test can't wait no longer."**

Cautiously, I eyed around me, then took a step forward.

**"With your first step you will BURN!" **A pillar of scorching black fire erupted from in front of me, blasting me off my feet and knocking me back several meters in an instant.** "Can't control the hate you have learned."**

**"Killing slow is the way I conquer." **It cackled mockingly at my defeated expression as I stared at my charred hands.** "Until you know the meaning of SUFFER."**

**"Step twice you invite and welcome death."** I felt something fleshy and burnt touch my sides, as if two invisible hands were trying to squash me. **"Pay homage to me with your last breath."**

**"Say goodbye to a life that you once knew." **It sneered with it's tongue out as my vision swam and blurred, the last thing I saw being void like doors bound to a shape of a sphere shutting in my face while the last monitor that showed a group picture of me and Team RWBY flickered off.** "Along with every being that was before YOU!"**

Then, I blacked out.

_What am I?_

_Who... am I?_

_..._

_Names_

_I need a name._

_My name...?_

_Ruby?_

_..._

_Weiss?_

_..._

_Blake?_

_..._

_Yang?_

_..._

_..._

_Is that my name?_

_No, I was sure it was- _

_Wait..._

"Who were they again?"

**AAWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO **

_Shift_

"And... you know the rest." I sighed as I met their unforgiving glares, which was a surprise to see Ruby can pull it off if she really was pissed. "Look, it was never my intention to hide this all away from you guys, that would've just made me another Ozpin. I just... never wanted to see any of you hurt, and tried my best to save as much as I could, keep casualties to a minimum. Going back with it fully awakened would just..." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blake flinch.

Ignored it, and gave them my best apologetic look as I tried to bow down. "I'm sorry."

Despite luring the Grimm away from the assault, some got hurt during the attack from Atlesian units running rampant, while others went missing till this day.

"Never in all my life would I ever expected all 4 of Salem's elite to appear in Beacon, and I'll admit that's something we overlooked. On the bright side, we know now more or less what we're up against, and will be better prepared for it the next time something like this happens."

"A next time?" Ruby blinked. "But, Beacon..."

"You didn't think Beacon was it's only target did you?" I asked, getting the students to exchange nervous glances at each other. I sighed. "I'll leave the explaining of relics and the brother gods to Qrow, but for now," I said as I looked at the remaining 3 members of my team. "I need to fix this first. Could you forgive me?"

Yang scoffed and crossed her arms. Blake's gaze was locked to mine, though something tells me her decision was up in the air. Ruby looked away.

"We're still a team right?" I asked weakly. "I did all of this to try and prevent deaths that we know would happen during the Fall, but there won't be any second chances."

"What do you mean?" The ever so dense Jaune asked.

"We know more or less what happens in the show if 'this' and 'that' happens. It's what a story is made of, decisions." Evans explained, getting a nod. "Well, we just altered the 'this' and 'thats', so anything that happens after this gets thrown out the window."

"Wait..." Pyrrha's eyes lit up. "Is that why Evans had to kill you? To be a spy?"

"More of a literal sleeper agent, really." I admitted. "His semblance will allow him to possess and talk through Amber' body if he's afraid of getting caught via scroll, but he needs to be asleep to possess bodies."

"It's delaying at best." Evans said through Amber. "We still have no clue on what to do with Amber, the real Amber, and we're not sure if she'll ever wake up, but I'm sure Penny's dad will come up with something, being an Aura expert and all."

"Wait a minute..." Yang drawled on, her eyes narrowing dangerously on the Fall Maiden's body. "Evans's semblance is to possess people."

"Mhmm." Amber confirmed with a nod.

"And you discovered this... after your training in the Emerald Forest?"

"Yeap."

"So that means, you could use it before the tournament."

"Yes...?" Amber raised a brow, not seeing a point. "Only humans or faunus's though, tried Grimm and it didn't work."

"That means..." Yang stared. "The night where we didn't remember anything and woke up next to Louis..."

Her cheeks coloured, and Blake caught on if the cough into her fist was any indication. She tried to look into the other direction and muttered to hide her fierce blush, but I'm sure I caught a sign of gratitude somewhere in there. Ruby immediately tried to cover herself under my covers.

"What's wro- oh..." Amber's eyes widened. "Ohhh..."

"We are having a talk about privacy later on." Yang snapped as she tried to fight down her own blush.

"Ah shit." I almost completely forgot about that as I felt my own cheeks heat up at the unwanted image. "I don't think now's a good time to increase my blood pressure though."

Team JNPR just blinked owlishly. "Haven't you always woken up next to Louis?" Jaune pointed out, not seeing a problem. "He does stay in the same dorm."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "What's wrong-"

"NOTHING!" Everybody in the room shouted simultaneously, causing the sister team to flinch.

"Okay, so am I forgiven for both _cases_ now?" I laughed nervously as I scratched the back of my head. "I really need to just get this out of the way. If you need time to discuss and consider, it's oka-"

I felt someone slam into my side.

That someone had puppy eyes.

"Only if you buy me more cookies and milk. Oh, and ice cream! And candies. Sweets!"

"That might have to wait, Vale is sort of... abandoned and in ruins at the moment." I pointed out.

"Then until then, I won't forgive you." She huffed without any real heat to it. "It doesn't come for free!"

"Ugh, okay fine. Yeah." I waved off, rolling my eyes as I ruffled her red tipped hair. "I'll get it as soon as we get access to some."

"Books." Blake said immediately.

"Excuse me?"

"Get me limited edition books by my favorite author. And make sure he signs it."

"Not you too..." I grumbled under my breath, and when I made to look, she was smirking. "Just get over here."

"Yang?" Blake called out as she joined in for a group hug.

...

"I don't know." She used her fingers to make a frame. "You look like the guy who could barely handle two. You sure you could handle a third?"

"Yaaaang." Ruby groaned as her cheeks flushed once more.

She peered one eye through her makeshift finger frame and closed the other. "Looks to me like a happy family already."

"Yang!" Blake growled as her cheeks coloured with specs of bright pink.

"Alright alright." She laughed off for what for me, felt like the first time in forever as she made her way to our side and engulfed us in a tight hug. "Thank you, but next time you do something this stupid, talk to your team. We'll listen." She added after I made to complain.

"I don't think Weiss would agree with you guys executing 'something stupid' or even agreeing with me. Buuuut... I'll be sure to keep that in mind." I chuckled as I basked in the comfort of their presence.

Thank god that's over.

Everybody made it out safe and happy, and even JNPR looks like they want to join the-

"DIBS!"

"Ooof!" I felt the air get blasted out of my chest.

"NORA!" Ren complained as he tried to pry off his childhood friend from the blonde brawler, who shot her an exasperated glare. "Jaune! A little help here!"

All I could do was gave a chuckle, even if my sides hurt like crazy.

Everybody was laughing as Yang tried to steamroll Nora over, but she just kept switching positions, always being on top.

Their smiles, all genuine.

They all look so happy.

And I made this.

_We made this._ I thought as I looked to Amber, who gave me a thumbs up from the corner of the room, immediately getting up the moment Nora announced her presence in wanting to divebomb us.

Nothing can stand against this. Seeing them happy, no one can fault me for the wide grin that was forming on my face, or the small chuckle I produced.

Nothing can possibly ruin this mom-

"Yay guys!" The door slammed open and Dwiki barged in. "We did it!"

...

...

...

"Evans." I deadpanned.

"Yes Louis?" Amber asked, equally deadpanning.

...

"Do me a favour."

"What is it?"

"Give Clumsy D a good ol' Supplex for me."

"Consider it done!"

"Wait wait wai- AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Dwiki found something slithering into a tight knot to his waist, the arms of a woman. A very, very strong woman that couldn't help but smirk slyly as Dwiki hovered about 3-4 feet in the air with a panicked expression.

"Isn't this what you always wanted D?" I chuckled as everybody stared in awe at the sight of the Maiden using her powers. "To have the affection of a woman's touch?

"WHHHHHY MEEEEEEEEEE?!-"

_CRACK_

**A/N**

**Huh, a lot of people unfollowed after last chapter. Wondered what I did wrong. **

**Maybe they didn't like the Neo scene. Damn shippers xD.**

**Anyway, this will be a bit of a long one.**

**So this is going to be the end of a 'book' in a sense, since Volume 3 and Aftermath just concluded. Thank you for those of you sticking throughout the entire time from start to end. (Sacke110 shoutout to you if you're reading this but idk where you went off to after 2020.) (DankAnon you too, since your fast but long and funny reviews on every chapter posted also kept me motivated in writing throughout.)**

**For those of you reading but idly not reviewing, of course thank you as well for faving and following and sticking throuhgout this journey.**

**Time for me to follow other Fanfiction writers examples and go on an eternal hiatus for life and let others assume I'm dead muehehehe. Jk, this will continue, but after some time (A month tops, probs won't take that long) of planning since, y'know, I'm taking this down my own path.**

**Stuff here and there might follow canon, might not, some people may like it, might not. But hey, it was gonna diverge from canon eventually.**

**Also, need to catch up with Vol 7 haven't watch a single episode of that.**

**A couple of mistakes were made in making this fic, but hey, you live and learn. **

**(Lack of info beforehand and not following Chenkov's gun) - This mistake was pointed out early by Evans himself (Kudos to you brother), but I couldn't find it in myself to correct it at that point, since the chapter is already posted and read by over 300 people, while the next few were already half written. I also never expected for me to get more descriptive along the way, whoopsie me.**

**(Chapters being too long and overdramatic) - Can't help it in some cases, since they are teens and will always lead to some drama, but some I might've overexagerrated some chapters a bit.**

**(A ton of things aren't consistent) - There were a ton of changes and improvising as time goes by, and I know this is natural for writers and story tellers, but sometimes I forget to look back on chapters and be like "Oh, wait, I wrote that? That happened?!" and people who read the book in a day complain.**

**This is just a footmark to look back to as a reminder of what to do and what not to do, and see how far I've come. Anyways, keep being awesome, I'll cya later!**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**LordDemolitions: Hmm, I don't think I've gotten to that point yet, where someone gets laid. But tell me honestly, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Cuz I'm sure I saw your comment on a fic before this that said you didn't agree with harems, since that's 80% of the fics here and it's annoying.**

**zeldawolffang: Thank you! Sadly not all people saw it the same way, and I can understand why. Thank you for sticking through tho.**

**DankAnon: Damn bro I don't have an xbox to play it with. I hope we get to see more of Neo soon though I'm not sure when xD. I'm not sure how I'll manage to rain a bulletstorm but... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for you comment as always!**

**Gabe2000: Thank you! I shall eat this honoury sacrifice and hope that it doesn't contain a certain sponge. Ikr, I still shudder till this day.**


	54. Chapter 54

**Omake 2.0**

**A/N **

**Didn't actually think I forgot about the omake chapter did you?**

**Evans: He almost did.**

**Shut up!**

**It was supposed to be Chapter 50 as a checkpoint mark, but I guess I just didn't wanna ruin the momentum.**

**-Chapter 26-**

"Speaking of Darth Maul, have you thanked Ruby yet?" Evans asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't know?" He raised his brow and chuckled as he pointed at the hilts grasped in my hands. "She was the one who gave Rose Nasty a paint job."

_She... What?_

"She didn't tell me anything..." I muttered.

"Probably afraid you'll get mad if you found out." Evans shrugged.

"Why would I be? It's a good paint job. And by the looks of it, she hasn't modified or tinkered with it, or tried to reload my weapon with other sorts of dust. Being the weapon junkie she is, I should be grateful."

Evans looked away and scratched his neck.

"Evans..." I shot him a warning glare, knowing all too well the signs of guilt he'd show when he was nervous. "Do I dare ask?"

"That... uh... may not be your original weapons."

I sighed and kept my eyes locked on his face. "What did you do this time?"

"She was the one that wanted to make sure you were safe."

"And...?"

"And so she may have uh..."

_Flashback_

_Evans's POV_

"Evans!"

"Hm?" Evans glanced back to see a crying Ruby charging towards him. "Hey hey, what's wrong?"

"I..." She sobbed, holding out 2 black hilts as tears trailed down the sides of her face. "I think I broke it! What should I do?"

_That's..._

"Uh... ok, what'd you do?"

"I tried to give it a better paint job, but I think some of the paint seeped in through the whole process." She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "What should I do?! Louis is gonna be furious!"

_He won't be._ Evans wanted to say, but the puppy eyes she'd gave him told him nothing he said was gonna free her of the guilt she felt.

"Here, let me take a look." He said instead as she pried the hilts off her hands.

_Hmm..._ Evans mused as he shook it, and indeed heard some sloshing inside despite the fact that the immense heat from the 2 Star Dust rods withing should've evaporated the paint by now.

"So...?" Ruby shuffled nervously, looking up to the scraggly man, silver eyes full of hope.

"I think there is some chance we could still fix it."

Ruby almost barreled into him.

"Oh thank you thank you thank-"

_Beep_

"What the-" Evans's eyes widened as he noticed what he just did.

His thumb was on the Overdrive button, and the blades were not even extended yet.

"Oh shit!" Evans shouted and Ruby immediately let go, jogging in place as far as to get her knees as high as where her pelvis was as she panicked as well.

Evans ran to what seemed like an empty room, and threw the thing like it was a hand grenade, before he slammed the door shut.

_**BOOM**_

_Hisss..._

"Whew..." Evans sighed in relief as he dragged his spine down the doors.

"W-What should I do?!" Ruby wailed as she started crying once more. "Now it's not even broken, it's destroyed!" She fell down on both knees. "Louis is gonna kill me!"

"Don't worry, I'll make him a new one." Evans replied as cold sweat beaded down his brow.

_Present Day_

"And just whose room did you sacrifice?" I deadpanned.

I got my answer not 2 seconds later.

"Glynda, please!" Oobleck begged as the usual cheery and hyper lecturer nearly got an entire cafeteria roof dropped on him. "I didn't do it!"

"Oobleck..." Glynda's purple energy wreathed around her, glowing menacingly as her eyes gleamed with malice.

Her lips contrasted that, twisting up in a manic smile. "All the paperwork I finished for the next semester was in that room." She said in her usual stern demeanor, but the way she floated as debris made a spherical shield around her said she was anything but calm. "So was my tea!"

"B-but Glynda," Oobleck fell as he tripped on seemingly nothing. "I-I didn't-!"

"There's only one man I know who could do massive damage with Fire based Dust like that." Somewhere below her, a student wearing a uniform from Haven coughed awkwardly and strolled away as fast as she could. "That stuff in your thermos is equivalent to Bullhead fuel. Admit it!"

"Never!" Oobleck waved a fist in the air. "I shall admit no such thing! My concoction is mine and mine alon- ARRRRGHHH!"

_Shift_

"... And that class, is why you should always do your homework. Information of your target before you strike is important, after all." Glynda smiled sweetly.

"Oi..." Cardin of all people whispered in what he hoped was a subtle way. "Is she ok? Miss Goodwitch never smiles."

"Yeah..." Evans replied from beside me. "She's just... in a good mood today."

"Isn't that right Doctor?"

"Leaf water is better huh?" Oobleck mumbled. "Trying to steal my recipe, I'll show you-"

"I said," Glynda clarified. "Isn't that right Doctor?!"

"Y-yes!" Oobleck hopped from beside her to hand the blonde lady some tea with a tray in hand and bowed with stilts.

He was in a maid outfit.

"Hmm..." Glynda tasted the leaf water in her mouth. "Too much water."

"What?! I'll-"

Glynda smacked her crop.

Oobleck whimpered and zipped to the side of the stage where a table was at, and started mixing a new brew.

"Now class, where was I? Oh right..."

**-Chapter 27-**

"Even worse, what if they've gone to buy some toys?!" Yang almost tore her hair out as she yelled aloud, getting some people to stare at her, a mother even clamping her palms on her kid's ears.

Blake decided it was best to keep quiet.

It's Yang.

It's better to be with than against her.

After a while, Yang finally calmed down.

Or so it seems...

"You thinking what I'm thinking partner?" Yang asked with a malicious smirk.

Blake grinned back. "Stalk em?"

Yang nodded.

Blake's grin grew even wider.

Something shuffled in their feet.

"Is that..." Yang asked.

"A box?" Blake finished.

_Later_

"We're in public?! WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THAT?!" Yang asked in a soft scream as Blake let go of her mouth.

"I don't know..." Blake admitted, her mind wandering off as to how far they've gone.

As if on queue, Yang spoke her thoughts aloud.

"Just how far have they gotten?!" Yang ground her teeth as she pounded her fists together, eyes flickering between red and lilac, unsure what to feel about it.

Blake heard something scrape against the floor, causing her feline ears to twitch and for her hand to reach back and grasp Gambol Shroud's hilt.

"Who's there?!" Yang echoed her thoughts, already deploying Ember Celica.

A security guard by the department store shifted his hand to his baton, getting ready to interfere with the 2 Huntresses in training, while everybody else just looked at them like they might be loony.

Blake heard someone's heart rate increase rapidly.

Her eyes trailed down to the source, right on her feet.

A cardboard box.

The same cardboard box from earlier.

"O...kay..." Yang eyed the box suspiciously, before taking one glance at the doorway and grabbing Blake by the arm. "Shit! They just went to the woman's section. Let's go!"

Blake opened her mouth to complain, but before she could she was dragged along.

She glanced behind her shoulder, but the box stayed in it's place.

_Later_

"Wh-What the..." Yang faltered off. "Blake... are my eyes deceiving me?"

"N-no..." She replied with a gulp. "You're seeing the same thing I did."

"Did they just emerge from that fitting room... together... and full of sweat?"

"Yup..." She answered. Something caught her peripheral.

She knew where to look.

Not a meter away, was the same cardboard box.

"Okay." Yang grit her teeth and cracked her knuckles as the top half of her face was somehow shrouded in shadows, contrasted by the glowing red stars that was her eyes. "That's it!"

Blake's ears flicked when she heard a small whimper.

_Louis's POV_

Weird.

Evans should be reporting in on Blake and Yang's whereabouts right about... no-

**_BOOM_**

"What... was that?" Ruby asked with a craned neck.

"Evans?" I asked through my scroll.

No answer.

"Evans...?" I asked into my scroll. "Evans?! EVANS?! EVAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"

**A/N **

**Inspired by a comic strip I saw in a RWBY FB group.**

**-Chapter 40-**

"I-it can't be..." Blake muttered shakily, her eyes widening as her feet remained glued to the ground, trembling in fear. "Adam?"

"Hello my love." Adam sneered as he cleared his blade of any blood by giving it a swift flick to his right, ignoring the gurgling fountain that's making a bloody mess on the cafeteria's floor. "It's been far too long."

"You... know this guy?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"H-he's-" Blake's lips quivered.

"I think I heard that name before," Weiss muttered as she attempted to recall the memory, before her eyes snapped open. "Wait..." Weiss's eyes widened in realization as she faced the cat faunus. "THAT's your ex?!" She pointed.

Blake's feline ears flattened against her head as she kept her gaze on the floor.

"Blake!"

Everybody spun to see the cheery monkey faunus with his staff out, ready to give aid to them should they need it.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Sun?! What are you doing here?! It's not safe. Get bac-"

A crimson wave cut through whatever she was going to say as they rolled to safety.

"Yet another faunus who takes pride in becoming allies with _humans_." Adam spat. "Out of my way, I'll make this quick."

"Sun, please get out of here!" Blake said with wide eyes. "He's not an opponent you can-"

"Don't worry. You told me about him beforehand." He said with a sad smile. "Go. I've got this."

With confidence he seemingly pulled out of nowhere, he strode in front and dropped his staff, trying to size Adam up.

"SUN!"

Adam wasn't having any of it, using an iaido stance to cut the monkey faunus down.

"Sun!" Ruby yelled. "Get back!"

The swordsman's hair glowed bright red, causing the rest of his body to be enshrouded in shadows. The length of his blade seemingly cackled as a weaponless Sun dug something in his pocket.

"Take..." Sun screamed. "This!"

In his hands, was a picture of Blake...

Topless bar the black brassiere bra she wore.

"GAH!" Adam looked like he had just been punched across the face, breaking his sembelance in an instant.

"W-wh-whaa-" Blake's cheeks reddened as she realized what Sun was holding. "Give me that!" She yelled as Sun just held it out of her reach.

"Not bad..." Adam tossed Wilt and Blush away with a clatter as he recovered, but that did nothing for his bleeding nose. "But you underestimate my power! Take this!"

Adam pulled out a picture of Blake in an oversized white see-through shirt, revealing the lacy bra she wore underneath, while she slightly spread her bottom half, wearing nothing but a string to cover her privates.

"ARGH!" Sun looked like he'd just been smacked with a sledgehammer as he staggered backwards. When he managed to stand upright once more, his nose... was also bleeding.

"Whyyyyy?!" Blake asked as she crumpled on both knees and stared at the ceiling.

"Eat this!" Sun yelled as he and Adam exchanged pictures back and forth, and in the next pictures an article of clothing would go missing, and Blake appeared in lewder and lewder poses.

And with it, buckets of blood from their noses.

"Hah!"

"Yah!"

"Fwah!"

"Bah! AH!"

"ARHH!"

"YAAAH!"

"WHHHYYYY?!" Blake wailed.

A loud clank stopped the two faunus's in their bouts, causing them to pause in their 'bloodied battle' and slowly turned to face the intruder.

The dark armour's shoulders rose and fell as it dragged a monstrosity of a weapon behind it. It's breaths were coming out in harsh pants, chestplate heaving up and down, as if exhausted.

"Oh thank Dust." Blake's eyes lit up as she crawled to the armour's feet. "Please, help us!"

The armour craned it's neck.

"Stay out of this." Adam snarled as he wiped what he could with the sleeves of his black blazer, causing it to stain red.

"We were just getting started. Don't interfere." Sun agreed as he dug his pockets for more.

The armour went from complete and utter silence, to chuckling maniacally, and eventually roaring with laughter.

"What's so funny?!" Adam challenged.

The armour tapped it's breastplate.

It hissed open with an eerie crimson glow.

"No..." Sun muttered as his eyes widened.

"Impossible..." Adam echoed.

Blake looked up, gaping and horrified.

"It's..." Sun shielded his eyes. "The forbidden one!"

A full picture frame resided within, Blake bending down with her ass facing the front, wearing revealing dark lingerie that left little to imagine. One hand was curled up into a paw, while the other teased the strings on her pelvis to it's maximum elastic potential, threatening to snap it open. The face she showed wasn't cocky, teasing or confident like the rest of their pictures, but nervous, almost shy and almost pleading.

"Images you can hear!" Sun grasped both his hands on his hair, threatening to pull his golden locks out.

N-Nyaaaa~?

"NOOOOOO!" Adam's mask shattered as both he and Sun were blown back out of the building.

"Well..." Yang blinked owlishly, eyeing the armour as it laughed victoriously with both hands on it's hips, the shattered windows which both of Blake's exes went out from, and then finally to the cat faunus herself, curled up into a ball and muttering that she wanted to go back home to Menagerie. "That was a thing."

**-Chapter 50-**

The way Blake's regretful eyes glanced towards the ground says it all.

"He... never told us about it." She managed to croak out.

"Hm?"

"His inner demons." Blake fleshed out as she glanced towards the man in question. "His problems."

The doors slammed open, causing the cat faunus to yelp and almost jump.

"Evans don't!" Kevin yelled.

"Don't what?" Evans raised a brow through Amber's body.

"Don't tell her about the plan or Louis's backstory!"

"Why...?"

"It's too terrible." Kevin posed dramatically and charismatically as he faced away. "It alone will jack up the age rating of this fic even further."

"We're on **M** for Mature Kevin." Amber deadpanned. "We can't go any further."

"What if the next few chapters gets delayed?" Kevin asked instead. "This epilogue has been going for some time now. You don't want this to be **'An Oddity Throughout RWBY' Forever** do you?!"

"Fine I'll make this short and quick."

"Thank god."

"In point form!"

"Wait!" Kevin held out a hand.

"What now?!" Amber groaned and threw both hands up in the air.

"If you do that we'll just lose more followers!"

"Urgh... fine, I guess we just have to show it in bits and pieces of flashbacks." Amber grumbled under her breath. "Rewind a few minutes so that we could do this _properly_ in the main storyline."

**-Chapter 51/ 52 ish-**

_Flashback_

"So," Pietro Polendina said as he soldered a circuit together. "Your Semblance is to possess something."

"That is correct." Evans replied as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think it transfers my 'Aura' into someone, and I think this would be valuable for your research."

"Well how about you try it now?"

...

"Eh?" Evans blinked owlishly. "What'cha mean?"

"Possess Penny." Pietro nodded to his daughter, who was kicking her legs freely on the ledge of a table. "She is a being that has an Aura, so it couldn't hurt. Plus, this will help immensely with my research about Aura. Not everybody has Aura based Semblances like you do young man."

"O...kay," Evans raised a brow from the sudden suggestion, but made no move to comment. "I'll try."

_Later..._

_Louis's POV_

"Yo, Evans, how's the-" I froze as I looked around the room. Nobody was there. "Evans?! Doctor P?! Penny?!"

"Hi ho... the merry o..."

"Pen...ny?!" I rushed up to her side. She was covered head to toe in blood. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I am perfectly fine, friend Louis..." Penny muttered, tone flat. "In fact, I've never felt better in my entire life."

_Something's off._

"Penny, tell me what's wrong?" I asked as I shook her. "Where is your dad?! Where's Evans?!"

"Don't you get it Friend Louis?" She asked as she met my eyes.

Her iris was blood red, her neck cracked as it craned to the left. "I've had strings... but now I'm free." I felt cables attach to the back of my neck as they tried to strangle me.

"Gurk... Penny... what are you..."

As my vision blurred, I caught sight of Evans and Professor Pietro walking from behind the equipment, all with red eyes as they jittered stiffly like zombies to my side with a plastic smile and held me down. "There are... no strings... On me."

**-Chapter 51/ 52 ish Alt-**

"So, if that's how you discovered your semblance," Nora said as she shot up to her feet. "How did Evans discover his?!"

"Well... It's quite simple actually." Amber answered. "When we were camping I fell asleep and had an out of body experience."

"Yeah but how did you know it was your semblance and not some kind of dream?"

"We," I chortled as Amber shot me a warning glare. "Confirmed it with Penny."

I looked towards the cheerful android giving us a nod.

_Flashback_

"So," Pietro Polendina said as he soldered a circuit together. "Your Semblance is to possess something."

"That is correct." Evans replied as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I think it transfers my 'Aura' into someone, and I think this would be valuable for your research."

"Well how about you try it now?"

...

"Eh?" Evans blinked owlishly. "What'cha mean?"

"Possess Penny." Pietro nodded to his daughter, who was kicking her legs freely on the ledge of a table. "She is a being that has an Aura, so it couldn't hurt. Plus, this will help immensely with my research about Aura. Not everybody has Aura based Semblances like you do young man."

"O...kay," Evans raised a brow from the sudden suggestion, but made no move to comment. "I'll try."

Later...

"Salutations Friend Louis!"

"Hey Penny." I said with a tired smile. Professor Port had been ruthless in his storytelling. "How's it going?"

"Delightful!" The ginger android replied. "I am having a wonderful time with Evans inside of me."

...

...

...

"Evans?" I called out as I looked at the green eyed girl.

"Yes. Father had suggested that he tried his Sembelance on me and now he is stuck and saying that my circuits are like a labyrinth that he is unable to escape from. I am learning so much of your lifestyle on Earth. Do not worry, Friend Evans! Your data will reside in me for all eternity. I even have your records on how many times you masturbate a day!"

I almost choked.

"Penny," I called out after I regained my composure. "You have everything Evans did in his life?"

"Yes!"

"His size?"

"About the length of an average pen."

_More than average. Not bad._

"Porn categories that he jacks off to?"

"It includes but is not limited to, BDSM, Ebony, Cospl- Friend Evans said to delete those memories. Should I comply?"

"No!"

"...Friend Evans said yes."

"Okay, fine. But make a spare copy and upload it to my scroll."

"It is done." Penny pointed at my scroll that pinged.

"Thanks Penny." I grinned maniacally. "Give Evans my thanks as well."

"No probem Friend Lou- Evans gives you his thanks by saying that he will mutilate your body and castrate your corpse."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." I chuckled and waved back.

_Present Day_

"Yeah... so that's how." I chuckled nervously as I made sure to give them the immensely edited version as Amber's eyes flared ablaze.

**A/N**

**Now, for Reviewer Omakes.**

**Guest from Chapter 49**

**-Chapter 48-**

"How are you planning to handle the dragon now?!" Kevin shrieked. "It's too much for us to handle!"

"Do not worry friend Kevin!" Penny said cheerfully. "I shall deploy the assault known as 'cannonball'!"

"Wait, Penny NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ruby held out her hand as Penny nosedived from the plane and into the Dragon Grimm, making a large explosion that took out it's tail.

It writhed out in pain as the Grimm rushed behind it to restore it's lost limb.

"Penny..." Ruby sobbed. "I will avenge you... Your sacrifice will not be in va-"

"Salutations Friend Ruby!"

"... ain...?" Ruby glanced over her shoulder, where Penny was alive and healthy. "How?!"

"You did not think father only made one unit of me, did you?" Penny giggled carefreely. "We managed this only because of Friend Evans! He introduced us to a memory bank called a 'Drive' and 'Cloud'. Now, I could be replicated and still have my memories intact! Geranimooooooooooo!"

_BOOM_

**DankAnon from Chapter 51**

**-Chapter 50-**

"Come back... you got that?" Yang whispered in her ear, getting the small reaper to return it with a slight nod.

Ruby crawled weakly into the chamber, eyes darting around in equal parts awe and fear as the glass hatch clicked and locked itself shut.

"Okay..." Kevin muttered under his breath. "Here goes nothing..."

The tubes lit up with an eerie burgundy glow.

Sparks flew.

Electricity crackled to life as voltage arced across the two tubes, charging them up.

Then, Ruby blacked out.

_Shift_

"Grrrrh... where am I?" I asked as I shielded my eyes from the blinding light. "Why do I feel like I've shrunk?"

Wait...

Is that my voice...?

Why is it so squeaky and high pitched...?

"Ruby?"

"Yang...?"

"Ruby, you're okay!" Yang cried as she hugged me.

"Wait, I'm not Ru-"

My eyes popped open as I stared down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGFH!"

_Meanwhile..._

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Okay, don't panic." Amber said as she held out both hands to try and calm Louis down. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay-"

"What do you mean okay?! I'm in a body of a guy I'm in love with!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Amber asked. "I'm gonna fix this. It's okay."

"No it's NOT!" Louis put both hands to his face and sobbed. "I can't face my team like this! What am I supposed to do?!"

"You could pretend to be Louis an-"

"EVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"

"Oh... great." Amber ran a palm down her face as the doors slammed open.

_Louis's POV_

"What the fuck is this?!" I gestured towards my petite body. "I did not ask to be Kimi no nawa'd!"

"Hey, look, let's just calm down and-"

"Ruby! Why did you run off?! And did my innocent little sister just cursed?!" Yang barged into the room soon after. "Louis?! You're awake?"

"Yang, it's me!" Louis said cheerfully. "Don't you recognize me?!"

"Louis, duh. Who else could you be." Louis staggered back. "Look, it's awesome that you're awake and all, but can you please put some clothes on?"

I looked at my own body.

Apparently, so did Ruby.

I saw my own face constantly grow redder and redder, and as the towel finally fell from the frantic gestures Ruby had been making, I saw my body faint in slow motion.

Welp...

If I'm in Ruby's body, I might as well do this right.

Taking a deep breath, I pointed at my own pelvis.

"Now that's a katana!"

**A/N**

**Well, that's all the time I have for today xD. Some reviewers do actually come up with decent ideas for Omakes, and if it's great, I'll make them like so.**

**Next Arc is still in development. See y'all then.**

**Also, just to bring some things into light, since some people chose to address me about it.**

**This is still a pure RWBY fic, it isn't started labeled a 'RWBY' fic only to be revealed as a crossover later on.**

**I didn't awaken some kind of 'Kyubi' from Naruto because a seal is broken due to dust being injected into me, or some 'Quirk', 'Persona', 'Stand' or whatever you want to call it, from another anime, and I only took the design of Gut's 'Beast of Darkness' because I wanted to portray the 'Big Bad Wolf', and even then, I never really read or watched Berserk but clips and pieces so I don't think I could copy the personality a full hundred percent.**

**Reviewer Sessions **

**Paradox0.5White: Keeping that in mind. Thanks for reading as always.**

**Guest: I'm pretty sure they tried 'everything' in the 'Salem is immortal' explaination in Volume 6. Not sure suicide bombing via fire dust is a risk they want to take though.**

**DankAnon: Thank you for reading and reviewing fast enough to keep the motivation train running. I always love longer reviews for it always makes me look back on it. Don't make it seem like it's the last of Evans. It won't be. Huh, reminds me of a comic strip I saw about what hell would be like. A monitor showing the owner's dog waiting for him to return.**


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N**

**RIP Kobe Bryant and his daughter. You will sorely missed and forever be remembered as a legend.**

**Man, 2020 just keeps getting better and better huh?**

**On a less depressing note, I hope I didn't take too long. Hopefully this chapter will cheer you guys up. We're back! And I hope we could keep up with the usual weekly or at least 2-1-2 schedule as per norms.**

"Haaah!"

_CLANG_

"Heh. Not bad." Yang grinned cheekily as the end of my blade met her gauntlets. Metal screeched against metal. "But not good... Enough!"

Her knee barreled into my stomach, causing my eyes to widen and instinctively lower my wrist to block my solar plexus.

"Hah." I smirked. "Gotta do better then-"

My voice died in my throat as she raised her flaming fist and brought it down upon my face.

My forearms were raised to the side of my face right in the nick of time. Ember Celica barked and fired a buckshot that took a huge chunk off of my Aura. That of which, did nothing for the momentum it carried along by firing 12 separate pellets in point blank range.

The force sent me flying, bouncing off the floor a few times like a pebble skipping over water, and dragged my body on the side until I slid to a complete halt.

"Urrrgh..." I groaned from where I was as I coughed and gasped for breath. "Was that really... necessary?"

"Hey, you were the one who said not to hold any punches."

"Right..." I groaned again as Yang strode to my side with a grin, lifting me up by the shoulders and patting me down off any dust. "Thanks."

It's been more than a whole month since I've woken up from my bedridden state.

My Aura had worked wonders on my body, mending both broken bones and torn ligaments like it was child's play.

Weird how it took only the span of 2 weeks. Even with my huge Aura reserves, I was still nowhere close to being a tank like Jaune, Yang or Nora was, and I honestly expected to go down fighting in the Fall of Beacon.

Yet, getting back up to fighting shape after another 2 weeks after that debacle? That was a bit too soon, even for someone as experienced in Aura as Qrow or Raven.

From my time being idle, my muscles were deteriorated and are definitely in need on some proper sparring.

And right now Yang is helping me... Rehabilitate, as she puts it. Funny how I'm in the other shoe, since she was the one who was supposed to be rehabilitating.

My body was strained, not to the point of falling apart if I try to pick up something heavy or being completely malnutritioned, but definitely noticeably slimmer compared to my huntsman in training physique that I once had, due to mass muscle tearing and lack of movement for a certain period of time.

At least, that's what I assumed.

"You've gotten stronger." Yang complimented as I shot her a defeated look. "Faster too, so don't feel too bad."

"You're talking to the guy that saved Beacon from a Grimm incursion." I replied with a distraught sigh. "I could've done better."

"With the help of a self-mutilating armour that increases strength, speed, stamina not to mention, take away fear, pain, fatigue and doubts." Yang pointed out with a deadpan, causing me to wince and shrink under her gaze.

"I guess I just expected that after going through all that, I would be able to at least be on par with you, or any of you for that matter." I mumbled under my breath as I regulated my breathing and nodded my thanks whilst Yang tossed me a bottle of cold water, and took a quick swig while I felt the sweet cold liquid trail down my throat.

No such luck of even being close to their level so far.

Ruby was hanging out with Penny somewhere in the facility as they try to re create her Cresent Rose. I still feel guilty about it till this day, but the Berserker Armour didn't really come with any ranged options in mind. Evans and I did built it with the intention of going crazy, and having ranged weapons that could potentially misfire was never an option.

Weiss was back in Atlas just like in canon, and...

Blake was... being weird. She's been acting... distant, more then the usual. Which was confusing, given she'd genuinely forgiven me.

_Or did she? _I asked myself.

It's Blake.

You can never know what's going on inside her mind. If any word describes her, it's _complicated_.

Part of me felt like she'd backed away because Ruby had basically confessed openly in front of the trio and out of the kindness of her heart, wanted to give her a chance with me. As to my response, I hadn't given an answer and as of today, hasn't been brought up yet, even in private.

Ruby didn't seem too keen to remind me of it, being the shy little leader she was, but that was besides the point.

There was this niggling sensation that that was only the tip of the iceberg as to explain Blake's actions.

In fact, the more I got better in terms of health, the more concerned she seemed to be for some reason.

I caught her giving me worried glances, biting the nail off her thumb or her lower lip, even her other pair of ears flicking back and forth even though there was no wind. They were small and subtle signs, but I've known her over a year to know that something was on her mind.

Not that asking her would do any good of course. She'd probably work her way around it or avoid me entirely.

Once I got into walking condition, it got worse.

Worried glances evolved into dangerous and suspicious glares when we passed each other down the corridors, and it feels like I was never really alone.

If I glance back quickly enough, I could see the remnants of her shadow at the edge of my peripheral. She wasn't as stealthy as she'd claimed.

"Don't feel that bad," The blonde brawler cut into my thoughts with a loud chuckle. "We had years of huntsman training and practice, not to mention we had our dad, who is a teacher at Signal, as our tutor." Yang's shoulder rose and fell. "At least you're improving, and rapidly, might I add, for a guy that went from zero to hero."

"I told you not to call me that." I frowned as I looked away, refusing to give the pleasure of her seeing me blush at her compliment.

"What's wrong?" She strode over to me with a smug smirk. "I thought you'd like being the center of attention."

"Only when necessary." I sighed as my shoulders slumped. "The subtler we can do things the better."

"Yeah well..." Yang stretched some kinks out of her arms with a satisfying pop. "A little too late for that isn't it?"

"I guess so." I sighed.

The media hadn't been kind.

Some people like Lisa Lavender herself was playing it safe due to politics being a thing, being neutral and not choosing sides. Others however, called the 'Dark Presence' a sign of the end. An omen that the Grimm were not on top of the food chain and that there was this new 'Hybrid' man thing on the lose eating unborn babies.

_Sheesh_

Yeah... not the memes I really wanted to spread.

Fear was supposed to be implemented to Salem's faction, and them alone. The public was supposed to see me as a symbol of hope or protection, but alas, most saw me as retribution against mankind.

Hell, some even started a cult based on me, praising me to spare them their families.

"Anyway," Yang chuckled as she slapped my back. "It's good to see that you'd finally found the perfect getup to settle on," She eyed me up and down. "All while doing something different for your boring haircut for a change."

"Boring?" I raised my brow at her. "Also, you still owe me a jacket."

"Hey! I said I was sorry!"

_Flashback_

"Actually, I think I might be able to use my feet now." I claimed as I slung both my feet over the edge of the bed, and wince at how numb they felt due to being inactive for a certain period of time.

"You sure?" Yang asked as she raised her brow. "I could help." She offered. "A shoulder to lean on perhaps, if you want."

"That would be highly appreciated." I smiled. "But first..." I held my hand out.

Yang blinked owlishly.

I cocked my neck and raised my brow.

"Uhh..." Yang slapped her palm down on my hand.

"No not that." I palmed my face with my other. "My Jacket."

Yang blinked again.

"What?"

"My Adidas jacket." Yang blinked a third time. "The one I lent you in the Fall? I sorta need it back if I'm gonna go out."

"Wait... you didn't give it to me as a memento?" She questioned with a raised brow.

"Would you give me your brown leather jacket as a memento?" I returned her confused expression with one of my own.

"Touche. Uhm..." She chuckled nervously.

A bit too nervously.

"Yang..." I sighed as I retracted my hand, pinching the space between my eyes. "Where is it?"

"Yeah... about that..." She ran a hair through her golden locks and refused to meet my eyes, seeking the walls instead. "It sorta... exploded."

My face twitched.

"How...?"

"It was in the Amity Arena when it went down okay!" She flung both hands in the air and actually managed to look apologetic. "You gave it to me and, after the shocking news that you 'died', making sure to bring it with me wouldn't be the first thing to cross my mind!"

"I-"

As if on queue, a shrill scream echoed throughout the hallways, causing me to shoot up to my feet, and winced at the pain that shot up my thighs.

Nobody else knew of this facility but us and Doctor Polendina.

"That sounded like Ruby!" I exclaimed, gaining a nod from Yang as she took my signal for what it was, and rushed out the doors to seek her sister.

I grabbed the crutches Evans had used on his time here, and limped as fast as I could to find the source.

"Ruby!" I shouted as I caught sight of her as I turned a corner down the corridor, Yang beside her, comforting her by rubbing the small reaper by her shoulders as she sulked. "What's wrong?"

"T-they..." Her eyes were locked to the floor. "Look at what they've done!"

My eyes trailed to what she was holding in her arms as tears trailed down the sides of her face.

_Ah... _

It was nothing but a jumbled ball of wool and linen.

A red jumbled ball of wool and linen.

A huge, familiar jumbled ball of wool and linen.

"Rubes..." I tried to comfort her as I grabbed onto Yang's shoulder for support, before lowering myself down on one knee. "Don't worry, we'll get you a new one, okay?"

"B-but!" Her red rimmed eyes met mine. "This was the last gift from mom before she-"

"Rubes." I chided, tone almost as stern as Weiss. "I want to help you. Trust me, I do, but I can't sew it together and promise the exact carbon copy. We can fix it." I added as she opened her mouth to complain. "Maybe even improve it by making the material stronger. You know they only did that so that they could save your life, right?"

Ruby shuddered as one hand instinctively went to the large scar in her naval, reminding her of what could've happened had Evans not arrived on time.

Slowly, she nodded.

"I'm grateful you had it with you. In a way, your mom helped save your life."

"Y-yeah..." Ruby sobbed. "I... I guess..."

I nodded to her sister.

_Well..._ I thought, scratching the back of my hair as Yang helped Ruby up to the washroom. _I guess it was time for a costume change anyway..._

_Shift_

I looked into the mirror as I shaved off the last traces of my unkempt facial hair that grew while I remained bedridden.

Splashing some cold water off my face to get rid of the remaining shaving cream, I observed my body, ridden with battle scars and a grim reminder of what I had done.

"Man..." I ran a towel down my scraggly hair as it splashed down and covered my ears. "I could use a haircut."

The doors slammed open.

"Did I hear someone say... haircut?"

"Jesus!" I covered what little I could. "Kevin! Privacy!"

"Oh please." He waved off. "I've seen worse. Now, what's this about getting a haircut?"

"I think I can handle it on my ow-"

"Did someone say... haircut?!" Amber backpaced a couple of steps while her eyes gleamed at the opportunity.

Her eyes met Kevin's, and they nodded in agreement as a silent conversation was exchanged between them.

_This is not gonna end well..._

The evil smirk the two shared proved my point.

_Not at all..._

_Shift_

"Okay." Kevin patted my head and ruffled my hair.

In any normal circumstance, that'll be disrespectful, but if he was so determined to snip a little off me...

"I'd better not come out of this bald."

"Intriguing." He said as Amber rubbed her chin to no doubt mentally imagine what that'll look like. "But not what I'm aiming for."

"You sound like you've already made up your mind."

"That, I have." The rotund man admitted. "Let's see here..."

He didn't have a pair of shears at hand, or an electric shaver, which begs the question.

"How are you even planning to cut it?"

"Have a little faith."

"Don't worry." Amber reassured. "He's got this."

Sighing, I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.

It wasn't even 5 minutes and I heard him claim that he was done.

When I made to open my eyes, it was to see my hair over my face.

"The... fuck Kev?" I asked as I brushed his hand away, approximately sensing the distance from where he'd last ruffled my hair. "How am I supposed to fight like this?!"

"You're not." He responded nonchalantly.

"Okay, what are you playing at-"

...

...

I shot up from my seat and gelled my hair up to remove any and every trace of it covering my eyes as I shot him a furious sneer.

"Not. Funny." I stated as I saw their smug grins.

"Ah..." Kevin held both hands defeatedly. "I see you are a man of culture as well."

RWBY is considered an anime.

_And the only male characters in anime with hair covering their eyes are... Well, that doesn't need to be said._

"You guys are dicks." I sighed as I brought up my hands to my locks and tied my hair back, barely enough to form into a small wolftail, while letting the remaining hair in front to trail the right side of my face as I combed it into locks.

"Going for something of Hanzo's haircut eh?" Amber teased as she looked at the mirror. "Not a bad choice."

"Well." I rolled my eyes, partly paying attention as I shaved my sideburns off, along with whatever hair ran along the sides. "It's a damn sight better than the old one. It was growing too long to comb to the side anyway."

_Later_

"What'cha think I should get?"

"A mask, that's for sure." Evans said through Amber as I pulled a simple dark red tee over my body. "There's no way in hell you would be walking outdoors exposed when it's public knowledge that you're dead."

"Doesn't have to cover your whole face if you're uncomfortable with it." He added when I made to groan.

"What kind of mask would look great with this haircut?" I asked as I pointed on top of my head. "I swear if I ended up looking like Purple Hood Derrick..."

"You won't." Amber snorted. "You won't use an executioner's mask now would you?"

"Then what other options do we have?" I asked him honestly. "There's a phantom mask, but that defeats the purpose as it only cover's one fourth of the face. We could go for the full one, yet it might draw attention. There's a masquerade mask, but that'll look out of place in a fight, and it shatters easily, being made out of porcelain."

"Scream?"

"Do you want me to get torn in half?" I deadpanned. "Ruby's gonna grab Myrtenaster and run a hole through me before I could even say it's me. As if I don't have enough holes on my body already."

"Tactical?"

"Barely could see through those visors." I snorted and shook my head. "They get foggy over time."

"Plague Doctor?"

"Same problem."

"Then use the one with the top half exposed." The Maiden replied. "Basically, a respirator."

I looked at her as if she was insane.

"Look, I get that it isn't convenient," Amber admitted with a sigh. "But if you could think of something then I'll listen. I'm just offering you what options I had in mind and thought available. They might be good ideas, maybe not. But you do agree with the problem at hand right? That you couldn't go walking as Vale's resident ghost. The whole world thinks you're dead except for those who fought with us."

"I guess..." I sighed back as I palmed my face and kept it there for some time.

Being kept incognito had been... taxing to say the least.

A vast majority of Vale had been repaired, or so I was informed by the boys who went out to get food and drinks, Dust, and other stuff that needed to be resupplied. The girls were also green if they want to leave or hang out, get some fresh air and all that. But me and Amber?

We're stuck here.

Me for obvious reasons, while Amber, more specifically her body, was more for her own safety.

We never know if there could be other members of Salem's faction blending in with society, hiding in plain sight.

"Oni?" Amber continued her suggestions as she attempted to cheer me up. "Bottom half of it as well if you can't see through the eyeholes."

"Not my style." I answered with a sigh and I pinched my nose ridge. "How about just a simple black scarf around to cover the bottom half of my face? Like a bandit or ninja."

"Or an outlaw." Amber pointed out.

"Or that."

"Depends on whether Atlas has facial recognition technology or not." Amber admitted as she rubbed her chin, considering that it could work. "If it can capture facial contours you're fucked."

"True." I sighed again, shoulders slumping. "But I don't think we'll have to worry until we actually get there," _And even then, I was planning to inform Ironwood of my presence. Winter should be able to help me explain to hopefully ease the tin man's worries._ "So I think I'll take the risk."

"Anywho," I continued. "I think we should get me some new clothes yeah?" I asked.

"What happened to your old one?"

"Didn't you hear?" I raised my brow. "Yang destroyed my one and only jacket."

"What's wrong with going with a simple shirt and jeans combination?" Amber asked back. "Jaune does it in a hoodie, and Qrow technically does it with an addition of a cape. The only ones I see with super fancy stuff that stands out is your team, but then again they sorta are the main characters."

"Pyrhha wears bronze and leather armour." I pointed out.

"Okay, one of the main 8. Besides, wouldn't standing out just defeat the point? You are supposed to avoid attention not draw it."

"I don't know." I admitted. "Just sorta feel... incomplete without it. This," I gestured to my torso which had a red shirt and below it, navy blue jeans. "Feels too simple. Too general. Just doesn't feel right."

"Alright." Amber sighed and rubbed her nose ridge. "I'll grab you something. Just don't complain to me if it doesn't fit."

_Later_

"Heads up."

I spun right in the nick of time as a huge plastic bag was tossed into my hands.

It felt... heavy.

"What the heck...?" I rubbed my forehead where a hard surface had impacted me.

"You asked for something, and so I got you 'something'." Amber said nonchalantly, before the edge of her lips curled up into a smirk. "Open it." She said, crossing her arms and leaning on the door frame.

Once the pain eased in, I shot her a glare before snapping the stapler clip that had kept the edges of the bag together.

My eyes widened.

"Like it?"

"Wow," I said as I held up what appeared to be, a sleeveless leather vest. It was jet black in color, covering all the way down a little over my waist. I flicked it open to unfold the rigid thing, and noticed how the zipper was positioned asymmetrically to the right side. It had a few pockets, 2 in front where people usually slip their hands into, and one breast pocket which you can zip close.

"It's... great." I mused as I flipped it around to get a better view of the back.

Slipping it on, I stared in the mirror, rotating my body to see how it suited me.

With the light grey shirt I wore underneath, it contrasted perfectly with the dark vest. I hooked the end of the zipper to cover myself up completely, and thought the better of it and left it open.

"Casual." Amber whistled impressively as she looked me up and down. "I like it."

I couldn't help but agree. I definitely looked better compared to the usual Adidas jacket that I rolled up to my elbows. This getup looks more...relaxed. It was my old style, one that I would definitely miss, but definitely not a bad change.

"It's also body armour."

I gaped.

"Body armour?" I ran my finger on the outer and inner layer and felt that there was indeed, some thin form of hard surface sewed within, but the padded extrusions were barely visible on the outside. "How? When?"

"Modified it." Amber shrugged. "You're gonna be facing more than just Grimm after this, might as well get you something dual purpose for a change."

"Right." I thanked him, then after a moment of thought, I added. "How about you?"

"What about me?" The maiden raised her brow.

"You're still in your green and white striped shirt and pastel brown cargo pants." I said. "You aren't gonna change?"

"Probably will, but I'm not in a rush to change anytime soon. What matters is that you don't die again."

"Oh come on, I'm not that much in a rush to kick the bucket." I replied as I dug my pockets. "Think this'll blend?"

"All you need is a ten-gallon hat and you'll have a look of an outlaw." He read my thoughts as I wrapped a scarf around my mouth, matching the dark red cloth drawn up to my nose.

"I don't think I want to go Clint Eastwood just yet." I teased with a smirk as I eyed Amber through her reflection. "But this'll do just fine."

"Now wear that for the rest of the next 3 Volumes why don't you?"

...

"I hate you so much right now..."

_Present_

"Definitely an upgrade compared to the old one." Yang grinned blatantly in her bright orange tank top, the same one she'd used when she was depressed and stayed cooped up throughout Volume 4, but wore the same, thigh length light brown shorts as she always did. "So I think I just did you a favour."

I just gave her a deadpanned look as she held up both hands, scratching the back of her hair in defeat.

The moment I woke up, and after a bit of back and forth discussion, Ruby and Yang had agreed to go back to Patch to reassure Tai Yang Xiao Long that they weren't kidnapped or worse, dead. However, before they left, they made an agreement that Blake was always there by my side so I couldn't do something 'stupid'.

Our resident cat faunus was all too happy to agree, making sure I didn't leave the room and guarding the cubicle like her life depended on it, as if the toilet itself could transform into another self harming weapon.

_Sheesh_

_And I thought Weiss was strict._

Little did they know I destroyed the damned armour in the process, being way too damaged to use again, especially after forcefully extracting the core to finish off the Dragon Grimm.

A week or two after, they made it back with duffel bags packed with their clothing.

How they made it back here without a fuss? I have no idea. But knowing the siblings and what comes out of their mouth, I got a feeling I'm gonna give Mr Xiao Long a hell of a first impression.

Considering he hadn't burst down the front doors and castrated us yet, this location is undisclosed. We were safe... for now.

"Anyway," I groaned as I popped my knuckles. "I think it's about time we head for dinner or something, don't ya think?"

"And I thought_ this," _She gestured around her. "Was your typical idea of a date." Yang teased with a smirk and placed her hands to her hips. "You almost had me fooled."

"Please," I rolled my eyes while I stretched my hands. "As if you'd go on a date with someone like me. Also, I don't think _the_ Yang Xiao Long would've preferred a one sided match. You'd usually be the type to take up a challenge."

Yang looked away, seemingly flustered as she muttered about something indecent in the locker room.

"What was that?" I questioned with a raised brow.

"N-nothing." She replied not meeting my eyes. "A-anyways, that reminds me." She said as she inhaled slowly, letting it out while she found the courage not to shrink under my gaze. "We should probably talk about that thing you have with Ruby."

_Gurk_

_Right._

"You said you wanted to talk about it when this whole thing is over. And now." Yang gestured around the room. She looked a bit saddened as she said it for some reason. "It is."

_A promise is a promise._

"Yeah." I agreed. "We probably sho-"

"Louis!" Ruby burst into the room.

"Ugh..." Yang groaned as she palmed her face. "Or... Not, again."

I mentally heaved a relieved sigh.

I haven't given Ruby an answer yet, for a good reason.

I don't know what to do.

I'm literally not ready for something like this and, to be honest, neither is she.

_It's just the hormones._ I tried to tell myself. _She's young and naive. The only reason she 'confessed' was because I was that close to death, or thought that I lost my ability to listen or comprehend what she's saying._

_She would've been to shy to come out with it otherwise._

"... Weapon and it's soooo cool! Look!"

"Hmm... what?" I shook my thoughts away.

"I said," Ruby pouted and stomped her feet when she realized I was only listening with half an ear. "We finally did it. We recreated Cresent Rose!" As if she expected me to not pay attention again, she twirled her scythe and it clanked as it mecha shifted, it's blade embedded between my feet. "Just like brand new, don't you think?"

I marveled at how uncannily accurate the details were, down to where the bolts were screwed into place.

Every nook and cranny was on point, making an almost identical copy to her signature weapon.

However, it did come with some noticeable changes. First being that both circular hinges where the end of the blade meets it's folded joint and the pole met the cap each had Penny's Power button engraved into it. The only difference being that it glowed scarlet instead of lime green.

It wasn't just there for show.

After feeling completely 'useless' despite our best attempts to convince her that she's not, Ruby had decided to take her weapon to another level.

Cresent Rose now has a similar function to my Obsidian Nova, though on a minor scale, where the inner edge of her gargantuan blade will glow and cut through anything in a short period of time.

Unlike Obisidian Nova, the StarDust loaded within could only sustain itself for about 3 to 5 seconds at most, before it died down.

Any more than that, and history would just repeat itself and Cresent Rose 2.0 would have a total meltdown.

In her usual recoil based battle style, It would've been all but useless and inefficient, but I'd agreed for her to have that added feature was there not to push the weapon to their limits, but should the situation call for her to get out of a pinch.

"It looks great." I complimented. "Almost like the original."

"That's what I just said," Ruby said as she twirled around, hugging the thing like her life depended on it. It probably did, knowing she doesn't know jack about hand to hand combat. "I can't believe I have my baby back."

"Good to see that you're loving it like your old one." I ruffled her hair.

"It was your fault it was broken in the first place!" She pouted.

"Like it was your sister's fault my jacket was destroyed in the first place." I echoed, getting Yang to huff loudly.

We looked at each other for a moment, before we burst forth laughing.

"By the way..." Ruby rocked on the balls of her feet as she pointed at my waist. "Looks like you got yours back too."

It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about, before my hands settled on the black hilts on my waist.

They rested on my side, strapped to my waist as it always had been, but they were untested. Obsidian Nova had been reforged easily enough, since the one I'd lost in the Fall hadn't been the first copy I've come up with, and after a whole year of tinkering with it? It's recipe is mentally seared into my brain.

But they haven't been used ever since.

"Yeah well, they've just been recreated, it's nothing new." I shrugged off with ease, holstering my new weapon onto my back. "Don't know why you seem surprised."

"Well, I don't get why you need that... other thing." She pointed towards the hilt jutting over my shoulder.

"Oh this?" I took out the greatsword for viewing.

It's name... was Requiem.

A greatsword which was quite simplistic in design. The length of it's blade seemed to be purely made out of dark steel, splitting evenly in the middle into two blades instead of melding into just one. The top half had a somewhat shorter length and girth compared to the bottom half, but that just added convenience in terms of it's weight. Halfway, it's edge became somewhat jagged, extending outwards like a metal maw all the way to the end.

A few crimson patterns rested on the sides like small circuitry indents, mimicking the outer blade's jagged design and shooting all the way to it's thick asymmetrical curved guard that hooked in it's corners, forming some sort of opposite facing claws where the blade meets the hilt. The hilt itself had a small axe-like fin-shaped pommel, though beveled enough not to cut it's user recklessly, but hard enough to bash someone's skull in if used correctly.

Unlike the pseudo-Dragonslayer which was made out of pure steel, it was wieldable by an average Huntsman, being somewhat hollow on the inside. Obviously, it didn't have the same heavy impact, but what's the point on having something that powerful and durable if you can't wield it?

"I was thinking of swapping really," I shrugged innocently. "I mean, Obsidian Nova was great and all, but I can't help but think it left a lot to be desired."

"Why?" The small leader pouted. "All weapons are great and should be loved evenly."

"I don't disagree," I replied as I held out both hands to calm her down, suddenly remembering how passionate she was about weapons and that she was wielding a really big scythe. "I'm just saying that I might need another for versatility. Obsidian Nova can't mecha shift into a ranged form after all. The closest I have being to a range attack is air slashes, and those take a while to travel and will dwindle out."

Ruby mumbled something under her breath, but didn't seem to disagree.

Then she seemed to suddenly perk up.

"So what does this one mecha shift into?!" She asked excitedly. "Shotgun? Rifle? Plasma Beam? Machine Gun?!"

"You'll see in time." I replied as I pulled her newly made hood over her head, with the only difference being the slight discoloration, making it a bit pastel color rather than the usual scarlet.

If anything, the bulletproof material I- or more specifically, Evans, had the local weaver sew into it was worth the cost.

At that moment, my stomach seemed to remind us of the time, causing me to clutch it as Ruby stifled a laugh.

"Have we seriously been training for that long?" I asked with a raised brow.

It'd only felt like minutes.

"Yeah." Yang jabbed a finger towards the wall clock. "Come on, it's time we grab something to eat."

_Later_

"Your parents didn't ask you anything?" Yang asked as she sat cross legged on the table.

Currently, our seatings were segregated between those from the world of Remenant, and those of Earth.

Not for any particular reason, but quite honestly the short, circular tables weren't big enough to fit all of us.

"No." The red haired champion replied. "And our leader decided that it was best not to write home..." She eyed her boyfriend from the corner of her eye, getting him to wince.

"Lucky..." Yang groaned. "Dad basically interrogated us, especially after we refused to tell him of location."

"I'm surprised you're able to get back at all." I admitted. "I thought he was gonna be so overprotective as to lock you up in your rooms."

"Oh come on, dad isn't that bad..." Ruby waved off and laughed nervously, before she muttered. "Okay maybe he is..."

"He only agreed to let us go after we'd told him we're staying with girls." Yang groaned. "And that together, we were capable enough to stop the Fall of Beacon. Only then did he realize we had strong hunters with us, and agreed once I told him we wanted to see Beacon restored with our very eyes, but assured him we were staying somewhere in the city, and nowhere close to Beacon itself."

"Qrow didn't rat me out?" I questioned with a raised brow, getting the blonde brawler to shake her head and Ruby to shrug. "Huh, I'd thought him the type to get backup and rescue his nieces."

"Just shows how much he trusts you," Ruby giggled. "Right?"

"Respect and trust are two different things." I said as the door opened, and Blake stepped in. Her shoulders stiffened at the sight of me, but she quietly nodded a greeting, and sat down opposite to where I was. "He respects me for saving the both of you, and the fact that I hadn't laid my hands on you. But trust? After beating the shit out of him twice, each with one hit?" I laughed. "I don't think so."

"If only I could convince him that you're on the side of good..." Ruby mumbled.

"Hey, it's between me and him, you have no hand in this." I said as I put my hand on her shoulder and rocked her back and forth. "Take it easy, would you? Not everything is your fault."

"Just like how everything isn't yours?" Blake finally spoke up.

"Precisely." I shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring the narrowed amber eyes she sent my way as I pretended not to notice. "I didn't save everybody at Beacon. I just try my best to save who I can."

"Even if it means killing yourself." Ruby muttered, causing me to let go.

"Guys, I'm fine." I gestured at my body up and down. "Seriously, are we really going back to this again? It's not as if you guys wouldn't do the same for me when given the chance."

That caused their jaws to clamp shut and look away.

"Dinner's ready!" Amber announced as she placed the giant hotpot on the table bare handed, somehow avoiding getting burnt altogether, probably heating it with her maiden powers or something.

The tension seemed to drain from their shoulders, all too famished and was happy to let their meal distract them.

I stood up to join the others from Earth at the table opposite to theirs.

Nobody tried to stop me.

_Man, their characters barely developed due to my involvement._ I sighed internally._ Still as naive and idealistic as ever. Was I really that wrong to stop the Fall?_

_..._

Everybody at my table was silent, noticing the mood and probably overhearing the conversation on the other table.

"Here you go boys." Amber fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously, as she settled another giant hotpot on top of a steel frame to avoid the table from charring.

"You know, if you wake up with a sore ass, it's not my fault." Dwiki joked, getting an elbow from Kevin.

Amber shot him a sinister grin in return. "Then it's not my fault if you find your lower half a charbroiled sausage in the morning."

"I did not need that image in my head." Kevin shook his head vigorously. "Especially when we're about to eat."

The hotpot hissed as a stream of white smoke poured out of the tiny vent poked on the side.

All our eyes widened.

_Shift_

"... Really should trust us more." Yang mumbled.

"We have our eyes on him, so I don't think he could pull something like that again without us noticing." Ruby replied.

"You guys are just really paranoid." Pyrrha sighed as she fished out some tofu with her chopsticks. "He said he trusts you if you'll listen from now on, and you guys agreed. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is, when the going gets tough, he's just gonna repeat this cycle all over again." Blake said in a frustrated whisper as she nibbled on some fish cake. "You act as if you're all innocent. You were about to take the maiden's powers and do the same."

Pyrhha blanched.

"Hey." Jaune warned. "Don't lay this on Pyrrha. Like he said, you all would've done the same for him. He isn't in the wron-"

_CLANG_

Jaune's face paled while the others winced.

A porcelain disc of hotpot cover embedded the concrete wall behind the blonde knight, missing by mere inches.

"Hey!" Yang yelled as she got up to face the source of the intrusion. "Watch where... you're..."

The others followed her gaze, and their jaws hung open.

A flurry of swish and swoops was all that was audible as chopsticks swiftly swiped whatever they could.

The boys didn't seem to care for the temperature of the food they were consuming, and the speed at which they were digesting it seemed like they didn't even chew the food at all before they swallowed it.

Dwiki seemed to be the only one left out, as when his chopsticks drew near, it was instantly swatted away by either Amber's or one of the boys, they could never tell.

Their hands seemed to move at such inhumane speeds that everything was a blur.

"Hm." Amber smirked victoriously, before consuming a fish cake and already lunging in for another in a span of seconds.

Eventually, it all slowed down to a near halt as only a braised egg remained in the thick, rich broth.

Dwiki's eyes glinted as he lunged, jabbing his utensils forward, only for it to slip out of his grasp.

The slippery egg flew.

Louis then tried to grab it next, only for the same thing to happen. Then Amber, Kevin, Adrian, Derrick did the same, wielding the same results.

Dwiki hungrily eyed the egg, like a predator observing it's prey. In the correct moment, he leapt up, opened his chopsticks in a last-ditch effort to claim what's his.

His hand shot forward...

Only for everybody to do the same, and split the delicacy apart, with only an eighth landing on Dwiki's plate, which he gobbled up greedily.

"That was delicious. Man... I'm stuffed." Amber claimed as she patted her bare stomach.

Dwiki eyed the soup, and pitifully fished out a sheet of seaweed, opening his mouth as his chopsticks drew near.

_Sluuuuurp _

Without a care in the world, Kevin's face shot forward, his lips puckered and slurped the whole thing until there wasn't a trace of it left on his chopsticks.

Dwiki just gaped at his clean chopsticks as Kevin leaned back on his arms.

"Okay, now that's just mean." Jaune chuckled as he scooted over to make space between him and Ren. "Hey Dwiki!" He called out to the sulking boy. "Over here!"

"Hm?" Dwiki looked behind him as if he expected another man named Dwiki to be behind him. "Me?"

"Yes you." Jaune laughed heartily as he tried not to let it bother him. "Have some of ours."

"Really?" The pudgy boy asked.

_Louis's POV_

"Make sure you don't regret that decision lover boy." I teased as I wiped my mouth with a paper napkin, all the while Dwiki scurried over, all too happy to have his fill.

"Why should I?-"

He got his answer when his eyes trailed to where Dwiki was, then to what he was looking at.

His eyes twitched.

"I don't think it's only the food he's thinking of eating." I chuckled when Dwiki chose to cajole the champion's cleavage that was peeking out of her bronze armour, causing her to cover it with both hands immediately when she realized everybody was staring at her, and more were deadpanning at the rotund man staring.

"Don't say we didn't warn you." Amber snickered, taking the hotpot with her as Jaune choked Dwiki, whose lips had strands of noodles sticking out of it.

"Wffffhhy mheeee?!"

_Later_

The door slowly creaked open, pouring light into the room.

I couldn't help but smile as I looked down at the black haired girl with red highlights innocently snoring in her sleepwear.

I settled on the side of her bed. Being careful while slowly lowering my bum on the foot of her bed, and being as soft as possible as to not wake the small leader up from her slumber.

If anybody had seen me right now, it would've looked creepy.

But I couldn't help it.

_She's adorable... _I thought with a small chuckle. _I really hope I don't have to see her harden her heart for the sake of others._

_She's way too pure for this world..._

She shuffled in her sleep, muttering something about cookies in her sleep while she ate at the air.

I tucked the small leader in with a proud smile, causing her to subconsciously return it from the new warmth it gave her, before doing the same to her sister beside her who had all but kicked her blankets to the floor, then finally, to our cat faunus who was fast asleep.

Taking one final look at the 3 of them, I smiled proudly at my team.

_It's time..._

Quietly, I stood up with a small sigh, before stroking Blake's hair gently and then, slowly walked out of the room with one last glance over my shoulder.

_Shift_

As the doors clicked shut, amber eyes snapped open.

_Louis's POV_

_Now, let's see if my disguise will hold if I can find a way out of this-_

My face slammed into the floor as something barreled into me from behind.

"What th-"

I instinctively unholstered Obsidian Nova, since Requiem was too heavy to carry casually and the fact that we were in a hidden facility, never expecting to be attacked.

_How did Salem's faction find this place?! It's hidden!_

I felt my arms getting intertwined with each other as the attacker attempted to bind and disarm me, feeling Obsidian Nova get pried out of my grasp.

"Son of a-" I slammed my head up as the back of my head connected to the assailant's chin, and heard a pained grunt that caused him to reel back and get off of me. I kicked blindly to further increase the distance between us, earning a yelp, and I silently hoped it bought me enough time to warn the others.

"Arrrrgh!" I drew both my blades out as I pointed it towards... Towards...

"Blake...?" I asked as the cat faunus clutched her nose. "Wha-"

"Hah!" She yelled as she lunged at me, pinning me down on the floor with both hands to keep me immobilized.

"Blake, what are you mmmfpl!"

Her lips slammed into mine.

She wasn't gentle about it, claiming my lips as if it was hers to take. I felt her breath rush into my mouth, and her teeth teased my lips all the more as her tongue requested entry.

I knew better than to retaliate, having a similar experience with Yang.

I took one gaze at her face. Her eyes were insistent, but hazy and lidded as she insistently refused to give up.

There was no way I was getting out of this.

I opened my mouth, and let her take me as I leaned into it.

Blake closed her eyes. She tasted of dark chocolate and smelled of olives. Her tongue wasn't as rough as I thought it would be, it was in fact, soft and almost juicy.

I felt her body tremble against me as her hands slowly left my wrists, but I made no move to cop a feel.

_I can't..._

Her tongue danced against mine and won, relentlessly harassing my mouth until it left nowhere untouched. By the time she drew away, if only by her bit, her breath mixed with mine, the hypnotic musk enshrouding her almost causing me to lean up and claim her lips once more.

I stopped myself before I could.

_I won't..._

Her lips were glossy where it connected with mine, her tongue even more so, and her gaze was almost pleading. It was only then that I noticed that she was in her yukata she wore before the initiation, and where she sat I felt her bare skin rub against my jeans.

I felt my own lips bruise against the rough treatment it was given earlier, but ignored the pain completely.

"Blake I-"

Before I could even get two words out, I felt searing heat against my cheek as a palm imprinted itself on the side of my face.

My head snapped back to look at her confused.

"You... bastard..."

Bitter tears cascaded down the side of her face and splashed down on my chest, drenching my newly acquired vest in a matter of seconds.

"You promised!" She yelled as more tears streamed out of her glassy eyes. "You said you'd talk it out with the team if there was anything!"

I just shot her a confused look as she wiped her eyes with her wrists, sniffling loudly as she crumpled on her knees, applying her full weight on top of me.

"Don't leave!" She begged. "Please! We can solve this together!"

"What are you-"

"Louis!"

_Oh grea-_

"OOF!"

Ruby's rose petal form slammed into my side as silver eyes shone, as she clung onto my arm for her dear life.

"Don't leave us!"

"What the hell are you talk-"

She sealed my lips with hers before I could even make out to complain.

I took a deep waft of what seemed to be a mix of roses and strawberries, as I felt the soft lips against mine.

Unlike Blake who was committed and certain, she was rather nervous. Her quivering lips was unable to engulf me in a deep kiss and only daring to further bruise the edge of my lips. When she attempted to go further, her teeth only clanked against mine, causing her to draw back in pain.

"Woah woah-" I held both hands out. "What are you guys do-"

"Louis!"

"Not you too..." I groaned as the blonde brawler came rushing from the corner. "Let me guess, you gonna kiss me too?!"

"What- no!" The blonde brawler's cheeks heated up furiously. As if snapping out of a trance, she shook her head and gritted it out with crimson eyes. "How could you leave without saying goodbye?!"

"Leave- Goodbye? What?!" I held out both hands before any of them could do anything brash again. I tried hard not to think about what Blake was- or was not, wearing underneath, for the tent in my pants was on the verge of bursting altogether.

_Down boy!_

It twitched all too happily.

_Fuck..._

The 3 members of team RWBY just stared at each other dumbfoundedly.

"We know that you're scared of hurting us..." Ruby started slowly, and felt her soft mounds squish against my arms tighter.

_Down. Boy._

"But please," Blake begged as she cried into my chest, causing her voice to distort and become muffled. "Please don't leave us again! We could solve this. Together!"

"Woah woah woah." _Something was very wrong here._

I felt my blood boil from under my skin, and not just from the lust of having kissed 2 girls in the span of 5 minutes.

I felt really, really pissed that someone misfed my team with bullshit.

"But-" Ruby tried.

"Atatatat. Ap." I held out a finger as Yang made to open her mouth. That seemed to do the trick, for now. "One at a time. Ruby."

"I know you're scared that you have that... _thing_ inside you." She cried. "I know that you want to keep us safe. That's why you build that armour. But we could- no, we will help you, just as you'd helped us andIdon'twantyoutogoaway plea-"

"Blake." I cut the small reaper off, gaining a small whimper as she burried her face in my arms.

"You bloody hypocrite," The cat faunus half hissed, half sniffled as she crumpled on my chest. "You told me to stick with the team and not run away, when you plan to throw yourself into exile just so that we could be safe. It's not fair! You should've discussed it with us and-"

"Yang." I stated, not even bothering to listen to the rest of Blake's statement.

She made to open her mouth, but one glare sent her way silenced her for good.

"Same as them." Yang snarled with crimson eyes. "You were gonna leave us for our safety, weren't yo-"

"Stop." I stated with a dead cold tone that seemed to freeze them to the bone.

Everybody looked into my eyes, a relentless glare replacing the usually friendly gaze.

"First of all, who the fuck said I was gonna pull a Sasuke on you?!" I roared angrily. "I never planned to leave you guys in search of taming or exploring this newly found power. Even if I can't comprehend it and there was a chance that I'd hurt you, without the armour, you guys would still be strong enough to defend yourselves!"

"Louis we-"

"Second of all, is this what it's all been about?" I glared at the cat faunus, causing her to shrink. "Is that why you've been acting weird this past month, ignoring me and spying on me?!"

"You noticed?"

"You were spying on him?" Yang asked with a raised brow.

"And third!" I added before anything could go off track. "While it is true that I am going _tonight._" I raised my voice at the end when they opened their mouths. "Who said I was going alone?!"

"Eh?" Ruby blinked owlishly, wiping her silver eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"If you hadn't noticed already," I snarled, unable to contain my barely concealed anger. "The rest of the boys are also missing from this compound. We were about to have a boys night out at Junior's to discuss what our next course of action is. That part of town isn't rebuilt yet, and even if there's Grimm, Evans could handle it through Amber's body. Or me with Obsidian Nova." I gestured with my head towards the hilts that were both sprawled on the floor.

"Huh...?" Blake echoed Ruby's actions, gaping and staring blankly at me.

"I thought you said you don't drink." Yang's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I can if I want to. I just prefer not to!" I snapped back. "Besides, it's not that we don't want to discuss it here, we just want to do so on Earth terms without you guys feeling left out. We were going to go out now because everybody's asleep at this time." I gestured with my head towards the clock, where it read '3:03 a.m'. "So nobody's gonna recognize me even with my mask off!"

"So, I'm gonna ask you one more time..." I growled under my breath. "Who filled your head with this false information?"

"Evans." It was Ruby who answered. "Evans told Blake who told us that you'd leave us when you got better."

...

...

My face went through a myriad of emotions, from confusion back to anger and then being startled, before it settled in a deadpan.

"AhhHHHH!" I tore my hair out as I writhed on the ground. "I should've known... those bloody shippers! EVAAAAAANS!"

_Evans's POV_

"Something wrong?" Kevin asked as he pulled a barstool to sit on.

He glugged half a bottle of leftover liquor, pouring the rest in an equal amount in the shot cups laid out in front of each of the boys.

"Nothing," She admitted as a chill traveled down her spine, causing her to rub her arms, even use the heat from her maiden powers. "I just... feel cold."

"Must've been the wind," Adrian offered, gesturing at the open roof and the ruined walls around him.

"I hope so..." Amber muttered as her breath came out in a fine mist.

_Why... do I suddenly feel like a dead man walking?_

**A/N**

**Nothing much to say here. This chap is long, but then again, it's for setups, while next chap might take a while, might not. May be longer, may not, depending on where I choose to cut it. Also, before I forget, Happy CNY to those of you celebrating!**

**Also also, over 66k views! Thank you guys!**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Paradox0.5white: Glad you liked it. I know I enjoyed writing omakes.**

**DankAnon: Evans had already upgraded from handholding to a HUG! RuUUUUN! You'd better, it's the omake you came up with. Glad to see you enjoy the rest though, just as how I enjoyed writing them.**

**Guest: I'm pretty sure a full stream of continuous raw energy from the god of darkness counts as a nuke. Especially if it's able to vapourize Ozma's body in less than 2 seconds...**


	56. Chapter 56

Team JNPR had woken up.

Why am I even surprised at this point, considering how loud my outburst was? Had I really expected to be subtle enough not to have my voice travel down the corridors and the room opposite to Team RWBY's?

Being an underground lab, I should've expected it to echo throughout the drains and alert every rat in town. Why Professor Polendina had set up about 3 guest rooms big enough to fit a team? I have no clue. Perhaps it was because he had expected both teams to visit at my mention of Penny having made 'Friends'.

The first was used for the Professor himself and Penny, though due to how busy he was it was rarely occupied. The Professor mostly just fell asleep on the table full of circuits, spare joints, and other mechanical nonsense. The other _was_ used by Evans in his time as an intern and occasionally on visits, me.

The third... was never used.

Until now.

Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by the two teams in a rough circle, isolated in a dark room, who were trying to interrogate me hooked on phonics style.

"So let me get this straight," Jaune held his chin up with one hand. Every thought of him looking smart or threatening was quickly washed away in the fact that he was still in his Pumpkin Pete onesie and sleepily smothered a yawn with a fist. There were black eyebags under his eyes, and a perfect white line running all the way to the back of his neck along with a red mark which I tried hard not to pay attention to.

Damn... Pyrrha is more daring then I'd cared to admit...

"You were gonna go and talk with the other guys on what to do, but decided to _not_ include us in it," The blonde knight's eyes glinted in the darkness as a flash from his scroll was directed into my eyes. "Again."

_I swear, did they read something that came out of 'Interrogation for dummies' or something...?_

"Like I said," I sighed for what felt like the 5th time as I didn't crumble under their not-so-angry glares, all while blinking the spots out of my eyes. "I _was_ and _still is_ going to, include you guys in the plan, and even tell you about it afterwards in Remnant terms! I just wanted this to be an Earth boys night out. A relaxing, peaceful, quiet nig-"

"Morning." Pyrrha corrected, rubbing her emerald eyes.

"Right, sure, whatever." I rolled my eyes. "Point is, why do you guys have me strapped to a chair? Even after explaining all this?!" I nodded off below me, where I was suddenly strapped via Gambol Shroud. As strong as the material was, the knot it was tied in was so loose and lackluster, so half assed, that I could've snapped the material that was equivalent to Kevlar free with one quick jolt.

On a quick glance and dim lighting however, it looked like it did it's job, so I had to convince them that it worked, lest I wanted to risk a sleepy Nora overdoing it and suffocate my blood regulation. Not that normal Nora wouldn't do the same.

"How can we be sure you aren't just gonna run away once we let you go?" Blake's eyes narrowed dangerously as she tried her best not to trip over her feet.

Despite the energy she had in our... encounter, it seemed to be but a short burst of energy from her adrenaline rush was all but used. She looked just as exhausted as when she was chasing after the White Fang in Volume 2 if her eyebags and red rimmed eyes were any indication.

"Really?" I deadpanned. "And just where am I supposed to run off to? Ironwood and his Atlesian Fleet is gonna shoot me down before I could explain anything, the global news of me being dead is still fresh and won't be forgotten anytime soon, you guys are gonna hunt me down to all four corners of Remnant until you find me, which might mean encountering Grimm as dangerous as Beringels, Sea Feilongs, Geists and inadvertently Petra Gigas's and whatnot, which defeats the purpose of protecting you in the first place, and do I have to remind you that Evans is in Amber's body, who could outfly me or any Bullhead at lightspeed if he wants to?!"

Blake and the others glanced at each other, before Pyrrha shrugged as to say there isn't a counter argument against it. Or... that they were too tired to retaliate.

"I swear Blake," I growled under my breath as I rubbed my wrists, wriggling the ribbons loose. They all gaped and blinked, but made no attempt to fix it. "I'm not you. I'm not gonna just bolt after hearing 'White Fang'." As if to prove my point, like a hypnotic catch phrase, Blake's shoulders instinctively stiffened and her feline ears twitched.

"You sure you don't want us to come along with you?" Ruby asked nervously as she played with her pointer fingers, fiddling uneasily with a shy and sheepish smile as she looked up to meet my eyes. "I mean we could understand it better if-"

"Like I said before, how would you like it when I stick around during a girls night out?" I questioned with a raised brow, causing her to cringe as she imagined it, echoed by Yang, a nervous chuckle by Pyrrha, and a pondering Nora. "Precisely."

"Then at least let Jaune or Ren-"

"Again, they're just gonna stand there and do nothing. We're gonna be talking on Earthen terms, which means that he won't get most of it. Besides, it's almost half past 3." I nodded off to the wall clock for further emphasis. "If anything, they'll just nod off. You guys should be asleep at this hour."

Their faces clearly wanted to say 'And so should you', but nobody dared to further push it.

They're unused to pulling all nighters, being in their first years and all. Their sleepless night before the Fall of Beacon had played in the factor that their movements were more sluggish and held no power during their fight against the Grimm, and that immediately after the Fall was over, they fell fast asleep before their heads even hit their pillows.

Or so I was told by Evans.

_Well..._ I eyed Yang out of the corner of my eye. _Except her and her late night bar visits, I guess... _

After a while where nobody dared to speak, the small leader took it upon herself to break the silence.

"Promise us that you'll return...?" Ruby held out her pinkie in front of my face.

I just blinked owlishly.

_Really...?_ I mused as I scanned the faces of the 7 main characters in front of me. Some grit their teeth or have the top row tease their bottom lip, others hid their concerns through their thick facades, but most were just waiting for my answer.

Were they really that scared?

My eyes finally settled on the red hooded leader, eyes glassy as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes when I made no move to acquire her pinkie.

With a sigh, I grabbed the back of her head and dunked her head below my chest. I felt her shoulders stiffen, but made no move to pull away. She was quivering and shaking as if she was just dunked in a pool of ice. I felt her take short breaths as she started to choke back a sob.

"Yeah, I'll return by the time you wake up. I promise."

"Then I won't sleep..." Ruby's muffled voice was smothered in my chest, but it was still audible, even to the others.

"I'll give you 10 minutes until you eat your words." I chuckled as I ran my hand across her hair.

I never seen so many of their shoulders slump in relief.

"And here I was worried there were a new species of ant sized Grimm, crawling in your ear canals with the ability to attach to your cerebral stems and brainwash people." I sighed with a chuckle and shook my head. "Salem needs to make them work on their interrogation skills though."

Ruby whimpered like a kicked puppy as she instinctively cupped her ears.

"I'm glad you aren't on her side." The eastern gunman said with a tired voice. "Your ideas for Grimm are terrifying."

"Yeah, what he said," Nora pointed to her not-together together friend. "I'm pretty sure this Sandwitch-"

"Salem." I amended.

"Salad." Nora corrected. "Would've conquered Remnant by now if you'd had joined her. Oh!" She perked up as if she'd just remembered something. "We have to name it!"

I blinked owlishly. "Name what?"

"The thing. That thingy thing inside you silly," The ginger girl shook her head with a smile as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We can't just keep calling it 'It' or 'That thing' forever now could we?"

Before I could say that we can, Nora slammed a hand her knees, before she spread her arms wide and snapped her fingers. I could imagine an imaginary lightbulb shining brightly above her head. "I got it! Since you were in that armour when it took over, how about 'The Dark Knight?'."

"That's... more of a title." I deadpanned. "Also, taken." If anything, that suited Evans more. Batman wasn't one to kill, and Evans had made most of the gadgets we have with us till this day.

"Drat!" Nora stomped her feet in place. "Ooh, ooh! I know! 'The Black Swordsman.'." She said over my shoulder and slowly hovered an arm across the air, like a director saying the infinite potential of an actor in tow.

"Again, Title, again, taken." I somehow managed to deadpan further. _I stole his sword, his armour, and his fighting style. The last thing I need to steal right now is his badass title._ "Besides," I shrugged. "The last thing I want is for me to be mistaken as some wimpy edgelord with some bitch in a rapier as a wife."

Everybody balked.

"Wait what's wrong with Weiss?" Ruby asked as her head tilted in confusion.

"Woah woah," Yang held out both arms, as if to calm down an angry mob. "I know you don't always get along with the Ice Queen, but I don't think she deserves that."

"Huh," I put a hand to my chin in thought. "I almost completely forgot she exists. Nevermind. The point is, I can't take that title."

"Then I guess I'm out." Nora's shoulders slumped, getting a massage from her not-so-secret soon to be lover- I mean... childhood friend.

"Do we really have to name it though?" I asked honestly. "We could go on with it being nameless or come up with something tomorrow."

"Of course we do!" Nora shouted. "When do we know what to call you if you're not you?"

I wanted to point out that there was no indication when the swap of personalities happen. _And besides..._

"You're making it seem like it's on our side." I deadpanned again.

"You're talking to a woman that eats a dozen pancakes for breakfast everyday and rode an Ursa to death in initiation." Ren reminded me with a deadpan of his own.

"Fine..." I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "I guess you can call it... Uh..."

"The Big Bad Wolf?" Yang offered. "The Lone Wolf? Beowolf?"

"Title, title and mixup. Not that I don't like it." I added when the blonde brawler's shoulders slumped. "It's just that we might have to come up with something simpler. A name."

"Then..." Ruby drawled on, curious silver orbs eyeing me eagerly. "What should we call it?"

"Call it... " I thought hard. Darkness was the first thing that came into mind.

It's not like Blake where her team had been the light that could seep in and pull her out of her White Fang problems. Evans had been the only guy there to save me during the Fall, and even that was against my orders in an attempt to keep him safe. But what's done was done, and he had no regrets doing it and I didn't fault him too much for it.

As long as he didn't drag any of the girls into it. I would have never allowed them to even come close to that... That thing.

...

...

Wow, Nora was right. We really do need a name for it.

_Let's see..._

Nothingness.

Emptiness.

The void.

The place where even light couldn't reach.

The dark side of the moon... Penum-

_ Wait... that's it!_

"Umbra." I answered after a good moment of thought.

"Okay, that went faster and better then expected." Yang admitted. "Sounds great. Let's roll with that."

"Good." I nodded. "Now that that's out of the way, Nora can finally leave you guys to rest easy." I chuckled while the other members of team JNPR seem to agree with a tired sigh. "You guys get some rest. Looks like you need it."

"Yeah no... kidding." Yang stretched and I heard a small cracking of her neck. Pyrrha smothered another yawn, and even Ren seemed to teeter a little.

I laughed mirthfully.

_They really are compact for sister teams. _

_That'll never change._

_ At least I hoped not._

"Come on Rubes, you can let go no-"

My eyes widened as I stared down, before my lips twisted up into a smile.

Her shoulders were slumped, and her eyes were closed, and she mumbled something about cookies under her breat-

Wait-

_Chomp_

The next thing I knew, she was biting my hand, hard enough to bruise it, but not hard enough to pierce skin.

"Aww, li'l Rubes is all grown up now," Yang cooed. "Marking hickeys on a man that technically isn't even hers yet."

"Go to bed Xiao Long." I chuckled with no actual heat in it. "You're drunk."

"Ooh, wanna join me?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Soon." I teased and poked my tongue out, and caught amber eyes grimace reel back at the corner of my eyes.

The lights were turned on and Team JNPR groggily made their way out, with Nora even hitting the door frame and passing out completely, causing Ren and Jaune to groan as they hefted the ginger girl by her shoulders.

Passing Ruby onto her sister's arms, my eyes honed in on the last person in the room.

Blake's looked away once she noticed me glancing at her, and her cheeks turned noticeably red.

Remembering back to what she'd done before they apprehended me together, I could feel my own heat up.

"So..." I started. My mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out. "Uhh..."

"Do you want me to leave the room to yourselves?" Yang poked a tongue out, earning a sharp glare from her partner. "I don't know if you guys can get it on with nothing but a stone cold floor and a chair. I'll take Rubes to a hotel and leave our room empty if you'd lik-"

"We'll be fine, Yang." I gritted out as I felt my cheeks heat up even more. "I just... need you to wait outside for Blake. I won't take long."

"Don't worry, take as long as you'd like. I won't tell anybody how loud you two are." Yang put a finger to her lips, and then roared with laughter when we both looked away flustered.

_Some things never change..._

...

"I..."

"So-"

Both of us looked at each other, then at the floor again.

"You were saying?" She asked, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Please, after you."

"No no, you go first."

"Please, I insist."

After a while, she finally gathered enough courage to break the awkward silence. "I..." The cat faunus started, scratching her other hand as she fiddled uncomfortably in place. "I'm... sorry...?"

"For what?" I took the distraction for what it was, and continued any topic she was happy to offer.

"For... believing in what Evans said. Immediately." She added when I wanted to point out she wasn't wrong to do so, and that Evans was trustworthy. Though a bit of an ass at times. "I just... thought," She muttered awkwardly, bending her knees slightly and twisting on the spot."After what you've done, it all lines up and made perfect sense. And I just... reacted accordingly."

"Ok."

"Okay...?" Blake asked as amber orbs met black. "What does 'Okay' mean?"

"Figure it out for yourself," I chuckled as I held out my hands out wide to take a step forward.

She took a step back.

"Did... I do something wrong?" I asked with a frown as my hands rested on my sides.

"N-no, I just... " Amber eyes flicked to me for a second, before snapping back down on the floor. Her cheeks heated up furiously.

Of course it was gonna go back to that.

"I..."

Her voice died in her throat as she shuffled uncomfortably.

"You were carried away with the thoughts of never seeing me ever again." I didn't look at her, but instead at the door or more specifically, piercing through it. Towards corridors, exactly where it had happened. "I... guess that's understandable..." I mumbled, not quite able to look in her eyes without closing them and seeing her face inches away from mine.

Her hot... panting, pleading face as beads of sweat traveled down her nec-

_No!_

_BAD!_

"Yes..." She muttered in agreement, though the way she said it sounded like she didn't quite believe her own words. "That must be it. I just got carried away. It's perfectly normal." She reassured herself, saying it over and over again as if it were a mantra to calm herself down. "It's all normal... Just lost in the moment and hormones. Nothing to be ashamed of... right?"

"Ruby got carried away as well." I pointed out with great effort to keep myself from stuttering while my mind conjured up the mental image the exact moment it happened. "But there's no need to bring it into the light if she doesn't ask." I scoffed and chuckled at the thought. "She'd probably deny it flat out too to avoid embarrassment or teasing from Yang."

"Yeah," Blake put a hand to her mouth to smother the small chuckle that slipped out. "That sounds like our team leader for you."

And then, the conversation slipped back into awkward silence.

Damnit Blake...

"Why... why haven't you given her an answer?" She finally asked after what seemed like a whole minute had passed. "Ruby." She specified, in case I wasn't clear on it.

Diverting attention away from her own feelings.

_Okay,_ I mused as she looked at me expectantly for an answer._ I'll take you up on that..._

"Why haven't I, ponder I yonder?" I held a hand up to my chin and paced slowly around the room theatrically. "Is it because the small rose is too young to have her petals plucked?" I grinned as I caught Blake scowl, not missing the innuendo. "Or is it perhaps it's because the powerful dragon is protecting this little bud? Is the small rose eternally cursed never to bloom?" I grasped the air and held my hand close to my chest.

"Oh hie thee," Blake bowed dramatically as she rolled her eyes, tension draining from her shoulders. "Thou art foolish, for thou clearly hadn't noticed the time that he is wasting when thee had promised to his comrades are for all but naught."

"Surely you jest. Would the time really be wasted?" I paced to her and posed as I tilted my head up to the ceiling and palmed my face. "If I could spend much time with a beauty like thine?" I peeked from under my fingers.

We both roared with laughter and clutched to our stomachs. It wasn't the answer she sought, but it was the one she needed. Soon, after wiping a couple of tears from our eyes, our chuckles died down and silence took the room once more.

"Thank you, Blake." I stepped into her guard with a smile. She had both arms crossed across her breasts, but this time, she made no move to shy away.

"For what?" She asked with a bit more confidence than before and less stuttering.

We were only a few inches apart that I could feel the heat emanate off her body. I grabbed her shoulders, then drew her into a hug, not that she returned it. It came out slightly awkward, with me feeling her crossed arms on my chest.

The breaths that came out of nostrils, along with my height, caused her feline ears to twitch cutely.

"For everything." I breathed out, feeling the soft fur tickle the underside of my chin. I tightened my grasp, knowing very well my limits and not attempting to grab anywhere lower. "I'd knew out of all of them, you would've understood me the most. Also..." I glanced down. "The same could be applicable to you too, Kitty Kat."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed into stilts as she glanced upwards.

"The White Fang isn't your burden to bear alone, so please." I said as I pulled apart. "So don't worry if you're unable to provoke change in faunus equality overnight. Don't carry it all upon your shoulders, alright?" I chuckled as I pulled away.

"You don't know what it's like Louis... to live in shadows," Blake shot back as she turned and shuddered, hugging her arms. "Always regretting what you've done. Spending time counting every little mistake, and knowing it's always easier to run."

Of course she won't let go that easily.

...

...

Welp,

It's a good thing I memorized the lyrics like the back of my hand.

"You don't have to spend your life looking backward." I hummed. "We've been through this over and over again. You can't just wish it away, the past is the past, it'll never change. That was before, this is now and when. We have a chance to make it better if we try..."

...

...

...

She scowled as her cheeks heated up and a wild blush spread across her cheeks. "That's just not fair..." She pouted with constantly reddening cheeks, not as cutely as Ruby, but close enough with the flicking of her feline traits. "You always seem to know what to say."

"Who told you to challenge me of all people?" I snickered, causing her cheeks to darken even more as she elbowed my gut. "We'll solve this. Together." I chuckled as I grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't use my own words against me." She mumbled under her breath as she kept her eyes locked to the ground.

I laughed harder at her honest opinion for all the good it did and the other, shy side that she rarely shows in public, only to receive another elbow to the gut as I turned away.

"Night Blakey." It might've been my imagination, but I'm pretty sure I caught the edges of her lips tug up into a small smile.

"Night... Lou." She replied casually.

I froze. My shoulders stiffened.

"Don't..." I said as my body tensed up. "Don't call me that."

"Huh...?" Even though I didn't turn back, I felt Blake's amber eyes boring into my back. "Why not? Evans and the others do it."

"Only my friends call me Lou."

"Oh..." I felt her face sadden and grasp at her chest. "And I-I guess I shouldn't be surprised..." I can feel her bite her bottom lip. "I'm not your friend?"

"No." I replied flatly.

There was another awkward silence and tension seemed to grow in the air around me.

...

...

I heard a sniffle.

"You're not _just_ a friend," I stated honestly after a moment. "You're..." I felt her head perk up. "You're.. something more."

The sniffling stopped abruptly, and I felt her gape.

"Y-you're..." She sniffled happily as I imagined her scraping her wrists across her eyes. "Despicable..." She half hissed wearing a smile. "I swear I'll get you back for that."

"Hey, this should be me getting even for that kiss." I snickered as I did a 2 finger salute, and walked off.

With a satisfied smile, I headed out and pretended not to hear the incomprehensible sounds she made between a mewl, a giggle and a squeal over my shoulder.

"Yang." I greeted the blonde brawler outside the doors, holding Ruby close in her arms.

"Smooth going lover boy." Yang smirked as she gave me a thumbs up.

"Just how much did you hear?" I chuckled with reddened cheeks as I scratched a finger across it.

"Enough." Her smirk cracked a little. "I guess this confirms your feelings for Ruby?" The blonde brawler's saddened eyes trailed down to the sleeping figure cradled in her arms. "Before something else interrupts. I just wanted to be clear." Lilac orbs met charcoal. "I would prefer you flat out deny her now rather than she cling onto that small glimmer of hope that doesn't exist. I hold no hard feelings if you choose my partner over my sister."

"Love," I sighed as my face hardened and killed my sheepish smile, and pinched the space between my eyes. "It's not such a simple matter Yang. When I meant Blake meant something more, I meant all of you do too. I wouldn't have risked my life so recklessly if you all didn't mean jack."

Her cheeks dusted with flecks of pink as I said that, and she inadvertently looked at the floor.

"There are different types of love. You love Ruby, but it's gonna be different then your love for let's say... Blake since she's your partner. And even more so with your love for Weiss. I can't really say I want them as a soul mate. It's too fast. My mind and heart aren't in sync. They're not committed to it."

"So, you finally admit one of the drawbacks of men," Yang sighed and shook her head, her face saying she'd known all too well. "Is it really that hard not to fall into temptation?"

"What?" I looked flabbergasted for a bit. "No! Not that. I'm not gonna cheat on them if I get into a relationship with either!" I said quickly. "It's just... it's not a priority right now."

"Not a priority...?" The blonde brawler raised a brow.

"Like I said before," I shook off whatever negative thoughts Yang might've had. "The Dock fight, Train heist, and the Fall of Beacon was just the start of it all. I'm waist deep in this, and it's too late to back out now. I have to see this through."

"And why can't you just decide to run it in parallels?" Yang pointed out as I strode towards her. "See this through while having a relationship? It couldn't hurt to try."

"Because then I couldn't focus," I replied, putting a hand to her shoulder as our bodies aligned side by side. "And I might miss something along the way. Other than that," I added when she made to complain. "It will also screw with the team dynamic."

"What do you mean?"

"Close your eyes."

Yang just looked at me aghast, then her cheeks flushed.

"What?"

"N-Nothing!" She said a little too quickly as her lilac eyes narrowed and she grabbed her mouth, gritting her teeth and clasping both hands around it.

"Oh relax would you?" I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna kiss you again."

Her cheeks burned brighter.

"So you do remember..." She muttered under her breath, before her eyes turned crimson. "Why didn't you say anything then? Wait, screw that! Why did you do it?!"

"You have any other idea on how to stop an angry you in your tracks at that moment?" I raised my brow with a calm tone. "I never brought it up because you never seemed to be bothered about it. Well, at least until we sparred this morning, I guess."

"I..." She trailed off as she blinked back to lilac. "You could've said somethin-"

"Yeah, as if I haven't tried that already." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "What did you say again? Oh right, 'Don't touch me!'." I faked a punch her way.

Her mouth opened, but then clamped it immediately as she looked away ashamed.

"If you think I meant to grope you," I sighed. "I didn't. I just didn't really see any other option to halt you in your tracks other than knock you out. And with your huge ass Aura pool and your quick to burst temper, I couldn't do a bit of both without shocking and drugging you."

"But that's... just w-"

"Just wrong, I know. Nobody has ever made you felt so vulnerable and helpless before and you hate that with a passion. I know."

Yang just gaped as if I've read her mind.

I pinched my nose ridge again. "You were in a similar situation after Blake's ex cut off your arm." I explained. "I know how your mind works, thus I can more or less predict what you're thinking of. You're always the sun, burning brighter then anybody else out there. Always the eye candy on guys and always the confident one. But take that away and what are you?"

Her eyes gleamed with either awe or shock. Maybe a bit of both.

"I take it you rarely lose a fight." I raised my brow, and waited for a nod. The blonde brawler gasped as her chest heaved up and down faster, close to hyperventilating, but eventually nodded. "You're so confident, so sure of yourself in the topic you conquer, fighting that is, that you always charge in without thinking twice. Against Cardin and his boys? Sure you'd fare well. But Adam is at a level not even comparable to Cardin. You fell, and fell hard. Depression took over afterwards, having lost not only your dignity, but your arm as well." _And Blake too,_ but that went unsaid. _It'll spark bad blood even though she didn't do anything here._

"So you... replicated that situation." She gulped as her arm subconsciously went to the spot where I'd jabbed the needle in. "Not the exact same, but wielding the same results. To teach me a lesson."

"It wasn't my main intention but..." My shoulders rose and fell. "Two Nevermores one stone I guess. Plus, if I wanted to keep you safe, you needed to learn that sooner or later."

"So... it was just a lesson right...?" Yang asked for confirmation. "Nothing more."

"If you'd think I wanted to release my urges on you when you're unconscious," I scoffed when that got a grimace. "Then you're wrong. While it is true that you are physically attractive, and I'm not talking about just your body," Her cheeks flushed as she coughed into her fist, while I did not such thing and went on ."I see you as more of an older sister than anything."

"Oh sure," She crossed her arms and huffed. "You said the same thing to Ruby the first time you'd met."

"Hey I didn't fall for her. She fell for me." I pointed out. "I didn't intentionally target her or Blake the moment I landed on Remnant, and would have never thought it'd turn out like this. It was..." I gritted out. "An unexpected development."

"So both my sister and Blake shouldn't hope to ever be with you?" Yang raised a brow. "That's just sad."

"I didn't say that." I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "It's not that I don't want to get into a relationship... like ever, it's that I don't need it, especially right now. I don't wanna rush it, and if I have to choose one or the other, I would rather it be neither for the sake of avoiding bad blood or, as I said earlier, mess up the team's dynamic altogether."

"What do you mean?" The blonde brawler questioned.

"Think of it this way," I let my mind wander to Volume 6. "Let's say you get in a relationship with... Blake. Hypothetically speaking." Yang pondered for a moment and finally closed her eyes.

_She wasn't into Blake at that point in time yet, but it was leaning there..._

I waited for her to nod before I continued. "Let's say you're in a pinch." She nodded. "And that there's a new type of Grimm that swarms and immobilizes people, dropping humans like flies without even laying a finger on them. Let's say... you're trapped in a cellar, with the only way out being a wooden hatch that you know will only have space for one man to go at a time. Someone came to the rescue on their dying breath and give you a 10 second window to run away. Obviously your team lay sprawled out before you, but are all too weak to move around you. 10 seconds became 7 from your time spent in considering whom to take. Who would you grab first? Blake, Ruby or Weiss?"

"Ruby of course." She answered almost spontaneously with a scoff.

...

...

"Hm," I smirked, then chuckled darkly. "What you say now and what you did are two different things Xiao Long."

"Wait, I thought you said this was hypothetical." Her lilac eyes snapped open and narrowed immediately. "It _is_ hypothetical right?"

I walked past her, retracting my hand.

"Louis...?" I heard her call out behind me. "Louis!"

I didn't answer and walked away.

_Yang's POV_

As she saw Louis turn in the corridor and the door click shut, she couldn't help it as her mind wandered off.

She'd grab Ruby.

She was sure of it.

Her sister was like a daughter to her.

She raised Ruby herself for most of her life.

She would do anything in the world to ensure she was safe.

She would...

...

_...Right?_

_Louis's POV_

"Was wondering when you'd show up." Kevin greeted with a drowsy wave, downing a shot as I leapt over a broken brick wall to get to them. "And here I thought we'd ran out of booze first."

I sighed and smacked Amber across the head with a curled up fist.

"What was that for?" Amber rubbed her nape as she shot me a frustrated glare.

"You know very well what that was for." I growled and took a seat opposite to her.

"No, I don't." She said half lidded. "I wonder if my main body also gets drunk without alcohol poisoning." And she downed another shot.

"You really don't remember?" I asked with my arms crossed and an even more cross expression.

"Nope." She popped.

"Louis is gonna run away because the big bad wolf is here~" I pitched my voice and held my hands helplessly in front of me. "Woe is me... Ring a bell?"

"Whaaa..." Amber slurred and looked away. "The weather is great today, don't you think?"

"Evans..." I gritted out.

"The soothing night air and the gentle breeze. Man this booze is great!" She held out a shot cup and offered it to my face. "Want some?"

"Evans..." I tried again with a sharper glare.

"Okay, suit yourself." She downed it. "Man the night is great today and you look great in that vest. Have I told you that before?"

"EVANS!" My hands slammed onto the table, as my chair scraped back. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter!" I said as I downed a shot. "Why'd you say that to them? You made em cry again!"

"Oh that." Amber dragged on drowsily. "I told them that you were gonna go leave them after you'd recover." She slurred innocently, not even attempting to conceal the fact that she was guilty.

"And what," I asked as my brow twitched. "Did you think that was gonna do?"

"On a bare minimum, score you a cat faunus?" She pointed out carefreely.

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes. "And how exactly did you think she would achieve it?"

Amber shrugged. "As long as you two hit it off, I don't really care how."

Everybody just looked at my face flushing.

"Ugh, this is why I hate you." I threw my hands up in the air and sat down on one of the available barstools. "Was that really necessary?"

"If we want to ensure you don't do anything reckless like what you did during the Fall, then yes." She shrugged. "You'd feel bad for leaving your lifelong partner behind. As to who, I couldn't care less, but probably one in your team would do."

"Are you starting to get paranoid?" I deadpanned. "That wasn't necessary, and you know this!"

"Well excuse me for caring for _your_ mental welfare and _your_ safety!"

"Enough." Kevin snapped. "We're here to discuss things, not debate."

"We'll settle this matter later..." I growled under my breath as I popped 2 buttons off my shirt as I downed another shot and slammed it on the table.

The circular table wobbled unstably.

"Now..." I felt the cold liquid trail down and burned at my throat as I scanned the sea of faces set in stone. To my left, Adrian put his hands into the pockets of his navy blue hoodie which was drawn up to his neck. He took one out of it's pocket occasionally to puff out a ball of smoke or tap his cigarette against an empty shot cup.

Beside him, Derrick crossed his arms, attempting to look threatening as his brows furrowed. Dwiki was tapping away on his scroll, carefree as ever, Amber warming herself up with glowing hands as she rubbed her shoulders, and finally, Kevin to my right, looking expectantly towards me.

7 shot cups lay empty in an equally spread radius front of us, with what I assumed was a 5th bottle of strong liquor in the middle.

With the rainbow of colored shards that littered the dusty floor, it was hard to tell.

With a sigh, I started.

"Are you guys sure you want to stay?"

...

...

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked with a raised brow as he too crossed his arms.

"I know me and Evans are too deep in this to stop." I glanced at the maiden. "But you guys aren't and the bad guys haven't even seen your faces yet. Well, except for Derrick I guess."

Nothing but silence was my response.

"Look," I grumbled. "It's not that we don't want you all on this journey. The more the merrier. It's that it's becoming much more dangerous lately, and you guys aren't trained to fight like we are. Hell, you guys don't even have Aura or the physique of a Hunstman. If anything, any sane person would stop here and disperse, blend in with the locals or something-"

"Lou stop."

It was Adrian who spoke as he puffed out a large cloud of smoke.

He stared.

And stared.

...

...

"He just forgot what he wanted to say didn't he?" I deadpanned as the tall man stared off into the distance with his mouth hung open.

"Then I guess I'll take over." Kevin leant in on the table. "Look Lou, if there's one thing you need to know or get first, it's that you didn't force us to help you, we _wanted_ to help you."

I nodded to show I understood. "But-"

"I get that it'll get dangerous from here on out. And we wouldn't and probably never, learn how to fight on par with the teams you have under your wing." He said as he downed a shot. "But we just regrouped after a year. A _year_ Lou." Kevin hissed out the words. "A whole fucking year. It was a miracle we could even find each other or that any of us were still alive by that point. I didn't come all this way just so that you could shrug us off afterwards. Even if it is for our own safety."

"Actually I wouldn't disagree with a bit of time off-"

"You don't get a say in this Dwiki." Kevin snapped, silencing the man. "Look. A year. A whole year where Adrian was lucky enough to meet one of the main character's uncles to get drunk with him. Drunk enough, that he'd take em with and go here out of all places. A whole year, where Dwiki went to god knows where and didn't get eaten by Grimm. A _fucking_ year where _I_ was stuck to work for old man Johnny Sins! I had to swap jobs every 10 minutes to rush to another store for fucks sake! Yes I survived, learned, earned a ton, but to go back to that hellhole of a lifestyle? No thank you!"

I tried to stifle a chortle, but the others beat me to it and were already roaring with laughter. In the end, I decided to go with the flow and laughed along with them.

"Okay okay," I held out both hands. "You should tell me how that even works sometime. He always does seem to be everywhere all at the same time. How about the rest of you?"

"The boys stick together." Adrian nodded as he wiped a tear from his eye. "That's how it was, and that's how it always will be."

Derrick just grunted and nodded, while Dwiki shrugged.

"And that settles that." Kevin concluded with a loud huff. "So stop babbling around and tell us what's next. Also, I think we should form a team to jump in the bandwagon with the others."

"Louis already has a team," Amber chuckled as she slowly slurped the liquid her shot cup. "It wouldn't do for him to have another."

"Nonsense." Kevin scoffed. "He could be the leader of both!"

"I'm not even the leader of Team RWBY!" I deadpanned further as I palmed my face. "If we were to have an imaginary team, why can't _you_ be the leader?"

"I told you, I'm more of an idea man, not one to execute the plans or lead. Besides, these dumbasses _might_ listen to me," Kevin gestured towards the two D's. "But even with the memorized lore I can't always react accordingly for the best possible outcome. You two know the characters best."

"Even if we form an unofficial team for the shits and giggles, what would it even be called?" Amber asked. "We have 6 members and it's not like any combination of 4 of us could even form a word."

"Uhh..." Kevin looked to the skies for inspiration. "Wait... " He slammed a fist on his palm. "I got it!"

He pointed at me. "But you're gonna have to lower caps your L."

"What do you-" My eyes widened comically. "No. Kevin, no. Hell no."

"Kevin yes!" The rotund man cheered.

"Fuck no." His grin grew wide enough it threatened to split his face in two. "NO! I am not calling our team team IKEA!"

**A/N**

**And so a new team was born. **

**Wonder if anything and everything we build together will fall apart in a matter of seconds xD.**

**I'm craving their meatballs now. Dangit...**

**The pacing for the first 2 chapters have been fairly slow, but don't worry, it'll speed up soon. **

**This is still considered the setup chapters, after all.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white: Welcome to my life, which Evans screws with... a lot.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Hey, I see that you've finally caught up with my stories. Thank you for coming along for the ride! I'm glad you enjoyed the run of this story, and even though I'm taking this on a different arc, hope that you'll stick and review all the way! **


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N**

**70k Views. Wew, quite the milestone!**

"Team IKEA..." Adrian tasted the words in his mouth as he took another large puff off his cig, eyes locked on the shattered moon above.

"That isn't even a word!" I stated as I threw my hands up in the air.

"No," Kevin agreed, nodding while crossing his arms with a grin. "It's multiple. A phrase in fact."

He then pointed above his head, on empty space, as if the 4 letters were somehow projected on there.

He spoke slowly and roved his pointer finger over his face. "If you ever mess with one of the boys... I-Kill-Ya." Each one of those words he jerked his finger upwards. "Team motto and team name, all in one! Boom!"

"That's a horrible pun!"

"One that works." Amber rubbed her chin, actually considering the idea.

"This could either go bad," I groaned into my hands, slamming my head on the table while at it. "Or horribly bad..."

"Meh, I find it quite suitable," Derrick claimed, causing me to shoot him a cold glare from between my fingers. "But where does it leave us?" He pointed towards him and Dwiki.

"Well, we could do IKEADD, which makes it 'I kid'," Amber suggested as she tried to come up with something. "Suitable with how many jokes we make around each other, but I don't think it rolls off the tongue nicely. Or you want the other option which would be DIKEAD, which would lead to 'Dickhead' or 'Dicked', that of which, if you haven't noticed, sound unpleasant as fuck. I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer the first."

"Huh."

I just balked, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"You good?" Amber asked as she snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, snapping me out of my gaping trance.

"Just... short circuited for a bit there." I muttered as I downed another shot, a mortified expression creeping it's way onto my face as I kept my eyes on the table.

I tried to wave off the thought of coming back to Team RWBY, only for Ruby to cry and beg over not to switch teams while she tries to convince me with another attempted kiss, and this time, in front of her sister, while said sister tries her hardest not to laugh her ass off.

All the while our resident cat faunus questions the new team name, jaw hanging low from switching from team 'RWBY' to a team named 'DIKEAD'. Probably snark her way at it too.

"Now that that's over with,"

"Wait," I slammed both hands on the table as I shook my thoughts off. "I never agreed!"

"We should figure out what our next course of action is." Amber finished, ignoring me completely.

"Like who Louis should end up with?" Kevin offered helpfully.

"Oi..." I growled. "I told you, nothing like that is gonna happen." _Not anytime soon anyway._

"Oh..." Kevin smirked smugly. "I see how it is..."

Uh oh.

He's using that face.

His know-it-all face.

"How what is?" My eyes narrowed dangerously into stilts as I eyed him warily.

"I guess even after being couped up with 4 girls for a year, you still prefer to play for the other team."

My face twitched.

"Oi..."

"Then again," Kevin shrugged. "I wouldn't blame you. After all, that cute Neko girl did have a taste of some _Redbull_. Maybe she does need the added energy to keep going."

The reference and innuendo didn't go unmissed.

My face darkened as the shattered moon from the open rooftop cast the rest of my features into shadows. My shoulders started to shake. "Oi..."

"Well," Amber shrugged with him, smirking all the way. "That explains where she gets her daily dose of _hairball_... Or should it be said the other way around?" They both eyed my lips peel back into a snarl from the corner of their eyes with a content smirk in place. "Do you think Blake bathes herself like a cat does?" Then, after a moment of thought he added, "Or do you think someone does it to her?"

A nerve jutted out of my forehead.

"Oi!"

"And back in our days I thought we eat steaks." Adrian sighed as he inhaled the tobacco. "Turns out here, steaks eat you, with extra tartar sauce."

"OI!"

They all turned to face me, chair overturned with my chest already heaving up and down in pure hatred. My breaths came out in fine mist as my dark eyes glinted dangerously in the dark.

I eyed each of them, staring deep into their souls to make my message clear.

"I told you guys how I feel about her! About them! What?!" It came out in a ferocious hiss, followed by me throwing my arms high up in the air and spreading them out wide. "Just because I wield what's basically 2 lightsabers you expect me to go: 'Mmmm. Bend over, you will'?!"

As one, the rest of my team shrugged.

"We should be discussing what our course of action is for the plot, not my love life!" I growled, slamming the chair back in place. "I'll handle that myself! You guys stay out of it."

The wooden chair splintered and broke apart before I could even sit on it, leaving me to stand and lean on the table while my heart hammered against my chest, my blood boiling from under my skin.

The boys shrugged again, and then just exchanged glances nonchalantly.

"I vote for Blake." Derrick ignored me and went on.

"What?!" I shrieked.

"Hey, as long as your offspring doesn't look like something straight out of the Cats movie, it's fine by me." He shrugged nonchalantly as I held my hands to strangle him.

"Then I'll put my vote on the blondie." Adrian added before I could say anything else.

"You too?!" I growled. "I told you guys to stay out of this!"

"She seems similar enough to you in her attitude and habits to spontaneously burst out in a fit of rage. No offense." He added, holding out both hands. "You know it's true. In fact, you're doing it right now."

"That's not what I'm angry about!"

"Then I vote for Ruby." Dwiki raised his hand.

"I'm beginning to feel like it was a mistake for us to have this meeting in the first place..." Never had I felt like a cow being sold off in an auction, or someone who's name is listed in a dead pool. "It's being misused."

"Money's on The Ice Queen." Kevin claimed. "No pun intended."

"Then I'll go with Neo!" Amber finished with a cheer.

"May the best man win." Derrick sniggered.

They all turned to face me with wide grins spread across their faces.

"Haiz..." I sighed, shaking my head. "I swear, you guys can be such asshats sometimes."

My shoulders rose and fell, my breaths coming in mists which I hoped was from the cold night air.

"I mean that is what brought us together in the first place, remember?" Amber laughed as she downed another shot, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm. "A bunch of eccentric asshats that just doesn't belong."

"True." I felt the edge of my lips tugged into an unwanted smile, though I kept my head hung low to keep it from showing.

"So..." Kevin started as I grabbed another random barstool, patting it free of any dust and cobwebs before I set it down gently. "Now that the tension's dispersed, what's first?"

"I guess saving Weiss should be our top priority right now." I sighed as I leant back towards thin air with crossed arms. "I mean, an incomplete Team RWBY is a sad team RBY."

"Let's be honest, getting the Power Puff Girls back together are the least of your problems." Kevin echoed my sigh and copied my motions in crossing his arms. "The bad guys are still on the loose, and more cautious than ever."

"And just exactly who's fault was that?"

As one, we all turned to the man who seemed keen to keep his eyes locked to his scroll.

"Either way," Kevin waved off and ran a hand through his hair. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"What do you mean? I asked.

"You called checkmate in too early while this Queen of yours still has all her pieces intact. What do you think she's gonna do?"

I stayed silent, prompting for him to continue.

"You think she would just surrender and call quits, pushing on as she sees the uneven battlefield?" Kevin chuckled darkly. "Or... reset the chessboard and start a new game?"

"A couple added pawns on the enemy side wouldn't make a difference." I sighed and pinched the space between my eyes. "She thinks us weak, and me, dead. It's best to keep it that way. Besides..." I switched my gaze to look at Amber. "Why'd you think I sent Evans there in the first place? Other than being a potential spy, he's there to even out the battlefield."

"It's risky." Kevin pointed out.

"High risk, high reward." I shrugged off easily. "Plus, it isn't like I forced him on the task. We'd figured he'd be best for this situation instead of I, and we decided _together_ to send him there with his own consent in tow." I waited for Amber to nod silently. "Speaking of which, where is your body?"

"Eh..."

_Hazel's POV_

"Hmm..." The giant of a man grunted, clearly unimpressed as he looked down with raised brows and crossed arms.

_This is supposed to be the man who's supposed to help us fulfill Salem's wishes?_

Evans's body lay sprawled on a laid out unfolded piece of cardboard box in an alleyway, clinging onto his duffel bag as he muttered something about... the other seer, Louis, if he recalled, in his dreams.

_It looks like he's having a nightmare._

"Not very impressive." Hazel snorted. "And to think for a second that we should cower in fear, worrying of them changing out fates altogether. What was Cinder thinking?"

She must've forgotten that they're human too.

Then again...

With his time spent at the Land of Darkness, he had forgotten what it means to be human.

It died along with her sister.

_To think that his death wouldn't affect him. Only someone as mad as Tyrian would have a wide smile plastered on their face as they slaughter someone they consider as close as a brother._

His face darkened as it reminded him of his own sister's death, caused by that ever omnipotent fool Ozpin.

He'll pay for it...

_I'll make sure of it._

But no matter how bad he felt for the outsider and wanted to either leave his body there or wanted to wait until he woke up, orders were orders.

And orders from her grace, even more so.

_And if this... Seer,_ He eyed the figure that was deep in slumber warily. _Can help me get to Ozpin... then so be it._

After emitting a low grunt and a distraught sigh, Hazel brought a burly arm under the side of said man, wrapping it around his waist and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, while he snatched the duffel bagup and carried it in the other.

"You chose to go down this path." Hazel said in a quiet whisper as his neck tilted and he glanced out of the corner of his eye. "Don't regret it."

_Louis's POV_

"You didn't think that could go wrong?" I deadpanned. "Like... at all?"

"I'll take my chances." Amber shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, most of my funds are with you right now, and you're gonna need it if you're gonna take all 3 teams around the world. Yang and Ruby are probably gonna get added support from Tai and Qrow, and Pyrrha and Kevin have more than enough wealth to provide for 2 or so each, but it wouldn't be for long. It's not like Salem wouldn't provide food for her employees... right?"

"And what makes you think anything Salem eats are a delicacy?" I raised my brow at the maiden, causing her to wince. "Or the fact that she eats at all? She's Grimm. You could have a plate of worms and she'll say it's 'Food'."

Amber grumbled something under her breath, about how Cinder and the others probably have something else for dinner but made no move to tell us that.

"Anywho," I sighed as I met their eyes. "Despite Evans being on the other side of the world, we should still be cautious. There's no telling who Salem has under her influence. We need Ironwood's support to get to the Relic in Atlas, so we should still try and head there, picking Weiss up along the way while we're at it."

"Then?" Kevin asked.

"Mistral, ASAP." Amber chimed in as she shook her thoughts off. "That's the first and only relic ever unveiled when we got teleported here, so we know for sure how to access it."

"And how... exactly do you plan to access it?" Kevin raised his brow.

"Right..." I growled under my breath. "We need to find Raven. As far as we know, Qrow knows of her current location so we'd have to wait for him to get back."

A low rumble interrupted my thoughts, causing me to eye my surroundings for Grimm. When there was none, my eyes roved upwards to see a Bullhead zooming at speeds beyond required speed limit that raised alarms in our heads that there was an emergency.

Or an assault.

I felt my hand slip to Obisidan Nova as it passed overhead and flicked the hard light Dust loose, while the other boys eyed it warily, expecting for it to turn and fire it's weapons at us at any given moment.

When it passed by a few buildings went beyond the horizon, only then did our shoulders slump in relief.

Obsidian Nova's crimson blades whipped back into it's sheaths, and I buckled them to my side.

"Who the hell would ride a Bullhead at this hour?" Kevin asked with a raised brow. "I thought you said all public transports close at 9."

"They are." Amber shrugged, letting her hand slump to her side as the fierce, orange glow died inside of her palm. "Perhaps it was an emergency evacuation. We are just by the walls of Vale and the small villages around here don't get too much protection from Grimm."

"Right..." I rubbed my nose ridge as I let my adrenaline wash out of my system. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand. We'll run into Raven sooner or later. We have Yang, so hopefully she'll listen to us. What else is there to worry about?"

"There is Blake's arc." Derrick reminded us helpfully. "Where she travels home and abandons the idea of stopping the White Fang altogether." He provided, and I found myself groaning into my hands yet again.

It was honestly not that important... If only Blake's parents weren't involved in it.

_We can't just leave them to die._

"Not exactly." Kevin said with closed eyes.

"What do you mean?" Both me and Amber asked at the same time.

"You said the Fennec and Corsac twins respect Adam's rule, not Sienna's." He said, eyeing us. Only then did I realize he was waiting for us to acknowledge it. I nodded. "Well, you just fatally wounded him, destroyed his pride. Hell, we're not even sure he's back with the White Fang yet, or if he will be going back. Might've skipped on that phase altogether and choose to immediately pursue your black cat."

"This is all based on a rough hypothesis." I countered. "There's no telling where he is right now. The man's a mystery. Also, the Albain twins might still have respect left to follow Adam's footsteps, since his methods has been working so far."

"Think about it Lou." Kevin held out a hand. "You said in canon that Adam returned with the success of bringing Beacon down unscathed. That's what caused the faunus of the White Fang to stage a coup against Sienna in the first place. She doesn't bring them their wanted equality while he does. Why would they do that now? When their 'leader'." He quoted with his fingers. "Is bruised and battered, coming back with not much results?" He gestured down the streets. "The White Fang had just declared war, the city of Vale is being rebuilt, and soon, so will Beacon with no delay from the Dragon Grimm spawning endless masses. Hell, it's going to be built from scratch. That's definitely faster than needing to raze it to the ground."

"Again, it's not about results, but the messages he brings and passes along." I said. "They believe in his ideals, and even if he's supposedly and presumably dead to them, and I say supposedly and presumably because I'm pretty sure he didn't go down that easily, he'd just gone and made himself a martyr. So far, he had done a damn good job at leading them against humans, and it brought results through fear."

"But you made him fear _you_." The rotund man pointed out. "Made him fear a human."

"Nobody saw that." I pointed out. "Nobody but Salem's... faction..." My eyes widened.

I glanced at Kevin giving me a smug grin and a thumbs up, indicating I caught onto the idea.

"Think you can put an idea in Hazel's head to pass on the message to Sienna of Adam's failure?" I asked Amber. "That should put a temporary dampener in the White Fang's actions."

"If Salem still sees some purpose for the White Fang, consider it done." She replied with a smirk, then it faltered and turned into a frown as she seemed to be having concerning thoughts. "But then again, what makes you think they'll listen to the words of a human?"

"Adam just declared war with mankind," Kevin repeated. "He just marked the White Fang on top of the list among Grimm level threats. She'll listen for any negotiation because right now, she's backed into a corner. Sienna might rule with an iron fist, but the last thing she wants is for the faunus to get exterminated via mass genocide." He turned to me. "The question should be, what're we to do about the White Fang itself?"

"We can't really do anything about em. Not yet." I replied. "The only way we saw on how to disperse them is to convince their families that violence isn't the answer and fight along with us, and I'm not about to go with Blake all the way to Menagerie just to go on a petition to achieve that." I pinched my nose ridge as I wracked my mind for answers. "There has to be another way."

"Well as long as they don't get in our way." Amber sighed. "I feel bad enough for those who lost their lives at the Fall. Students can get... carried away sometimes."

"I'm pretty sure most of those bodies were charred by some raw lightning." I deadpanned.

Amber shrugged. "Someone must've had really powerful Lightning Dust in their disposal."

"Should we split into two teams to get results faster?" Adrian suggested as he doused his cig in his shot cup with a loud crumpling noise and a fizzling hiss. Specs of orange and smoke rose out of the mixture, and fluttered above his eyes. "One goes to Atlas, the other goes to Haven."

"No." I shook my head. "Divide and conquer might work if we know what we're up against, but if we split between JNPR and RWBY, there's no telling what could potentially happen to either. They are now aware we have a freak of nature amongst our ranks, and as far as they're concerned, she's awake and her combat potential hasn't faltered. It's safer we go with Qrow in tow. Without the armour, the only one capable of fighting on par with Cinder is Evans in Amber, and I'm not about to leave both teams in charge of her, being the walls in the middle just waiting to be torn down."

"True." Amber agreed with a nod. "And it's not like I can stay asleep or in Amber forever. Qrow's protective custody won't do much against someone like Cinder. I'll do what I can with this body, but no guarantees, especially not when I arrive at the Land of Darkness. I'll have to be more active in my own skin then."

"Still don't get why you think traveling like a backpacker is a great idea." I deadpanned.

"I'm sure my body's all fine." She shrugged off easily. "I found a secluded spot in an alleyway to rest my main body in. It's well hidden from view. I'm sure nobody's gonna see me or detect me while I'm doing this."

_Hazels' POV_

"He has arrived, my liege." Hazel knelt down with one fist planted on the floor, behind him an unconscious body lay on the long table usually used to discuss tactics amongst the people Salem had recruited.

"**What... is he doing?**" Salem asked, eyeing the shaggy man as he curled up and rolled to the side.

"He appears to be... sleeping, my liege." Hazel pointed out. "I found him at one of the small villages that reside on the outskirts of Vale. He didn't even make it that far, being barely a mile out from the walls and seemed to have been walking in circles for about weeks to a month, if the tattered state of his clothing and the putrid stench that surrounds him is any indication."

"**And he didn't awaken on his flight back here?**" The primordial entity eyed the being curiously.

"No, my liege." Hazel answered, making sure to keep his eyes focused on the floor even though he heard her voice edge ever so closer. "He appears to be in a deep slumber. I have tried shaking him gently, and even with the loud engines of the Bullhead he would not awaken still. On the other hand, it spared him the fear and panic of having to see this much Grimm at once, making the escort much easier."

"**Is that so?**" Salem asked as she trailed her eyes up and down, eventually settling on his duffel bag, before snapping back to his face. "**Interesting...**"

_Louis's POV_

"If you say so man." I sighed as I watched the dark skies started to tint with a light orange hue, indicating that we don't have much time.

"By the way, why didn't you kill Cinder?" I asked the question that had been nagging at the back of my head this past month, but I never got the chance to acknowledge it, being too busy sparring or bonding with my team. "I thought the full plan was to get Amber back into tip top shape."

"It... was." Amber admitted with gritted teeth and closed her eyes. "I couldn't get through."

"What'd ya mean?"

"It's like you and... what did Nora call it? Undine...?"

"Umbra." I amended.

"Right." She shivered. "It's like you and Umbra. There's like this firewall in between that's tough to crack. I tried, really I did, but it only resulted in Cinder almost poking her eye out. Emphasis on _almost_." Amber looked down at her hands while she kept her eyes closed. "It's like she has two brains, all thanks to that Grimm parasite. The fought for control was too great."

"But you managed with me."

"Yeah, only because you wanted to be free and possessed, so it was 4 against-"

"4?" I raised my brow suspiciously.

Amber clamped up and blinked anxiously. Her pupils trailed left and right nervously, while cold sweat trickled down furrowed brows as her teeth chattered in the cold morning air.

He's afraid.

"Evans..." I said slowly as my eyes narrowed dangerously. "You did go in to save me alone... right?"

"Yes." Amber stated as she looked at me straight in the eye.

Nobody dared to comment, and the minutes went by in silence.

"Hmm..." I crossed my arms.

_Only because we're in a time limit, I'll let this one go._

_But I'll have to be sure to make a check on that later._

"Go on." I said as I glugged a full cup.

Amber let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Anyway, it was 2 against 1 at that time, so it succeeded. Both Cinder and her parasite doesn't want to be controlled. One mind, I can control no problem, but two? That's a bit of a stretch."

"So basically you can possess anything that doesn't have two souls." Kevin whistled as the tension from the air drained away, clearly impressed by the convenience of such a Semblance. "What about something with 'No brain', like Grimm?"

"We tried that which ended up with Evans gasping for breath in the Emerald Forest." I sighed, shaking me head. "Apparently whatever happens to his host, happens to his real body. He's not used to feeling the emptiness and pure hatred within the Grimm and it almost caused him to collapse upon returning. Ths weakness is the reason why he didn't go... further, with his attempted shipping."

"Yeah..." She chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head. "Don't wanna wake up with a burning sensation when I take a leak."

"Speaking of, how did that interrogation go for you?" I drawled on as I smirked cockily in her face.

"Ruby never confronted me, being... well, Ruby, while Yang threatened to beat it into me. Blake half thanked me, and half wanted to strangle me for seeing her and her friends in the nude. In the end, nothing happened though, so I'm good." She shrugged.

"Why can't I have that kind of Sembl-"

"Because you're just gonna abuse it for your sexual needs, both of you." Amber added when Derrick opened his mouth. Clumsy D's face soured, crossing his arms and looking back to his scroll. "I take no pleasure in watching Team RWBY gets undressed, and Louis knows this. That's what's preventing him from killing me right now, just so you know."

That managed to clamp their mouths shut as none of the two dared to make eye contact with me.

"Doesn't prevent the fact that he's jealous." Kevin chuckled when he noticed my frown.

"Yeah, I noticed." Amber snickered back.

"Still can't believe they didn't do anything." I let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through my hair. "I thought it would've been a riot."

"Probably because he's still in Amber's body." Kevin pointed out when I rolled my eyes. "Once he gets back to his own, there's no telling what punishments they'll dish out."

Amber muttered a silent prayer, wishing that they'll forgive and forget.

"Don't worry," I laughed and rubbed my hands together. "I'll be sure to remind em when the time comes."

That gained a look of ire and a small whimper from the maiden.

"Hmm," The rotund man mused, putting a hand to his chin. "So technically, both of you have PVP Semblances."

"Mine's a bit of a glass cannon," I admitted. "But yeah. We have no use for our Semblances in PVE, or in this case, against Grimm. It only works against Hunstman, well, at least mine does." I curled and uncurled my fingers as I looked at my right hand. "Not much use against someone with their Aura still locked, and I have to get up close and personal to apply it."

Purge.

It devoids people of Aura, and by extension, their Semblance, sending them to god knows where.

...

A Semblance befitting me with a being made of the pure void that resides within.

"Think we could unlock Aura ourselves?" Kevin asked honestly as he flipped his hands back and forth. "Other than the fact that it'll help protect us against the Grimm, we might be able to help more than we already can."

"To be honest, we want to." I said slowly and honestly when all their heads snapped to my direction. "But it's not that simple. Having an Aura means having a life force. It sorta drains you dry if misused."

"Yeah," Amber agreed. "We could do that sometime though, just make sure either we or Jaune and Ren are the ones who unlock both D's."

Their frowns indicated that Evans was spot on in assuming they expected one of the girls to unlock their Auras. As to why, well... go fish.

"If you unlock Semblance anything like Evans's..." I growled under my breath. "I swear I will disable it."

Their frowns grew sour, as if they were sucking on a lemon.

"Welp, it's been fun," Amber admitted. "but it's time for me to travel again." She Getting up, right as the circumference of the sun touched the tip of the horizon. "Less Grimm in the morning," She said, stretching her arms. "Don't know why."

"Don't strain yourself." Kevin reminded.

"With my Semblance I can stay awake for 24/7." Amber boasted as she placed a palm on her chest. "I can fall asleep and take over this body, and go back all rejuvenated and fresh as a daisy. I'll be fine."

"Just saying that you're gonna be doing some heavy lifting after this." The rotund man chuckled. "And you're not exactly the fittest guy last time I checked."

"Yeah," I agreed with a chuckle of my own, tying my crimson bandana in place to cover my facial features below my eyes. "Just make sure you get enough rest and food."

"What are you? My mom?" Amber deadpanned, and gave us a 2 finger salute. "Mind if you give me the expressway out?"

"Sure buddy." I said, holding out my hand.

"I'll be checking in with you guys tonight." Amber chuckled, holding out her own. "Don't do anything I wouldn't."

As our hands touched, my body flashed an eerie black glow, then Amber's eyes flickered from deep cyan to her usual brown. Her body went slack as her head slammed onto the table.

"Uhm." Kevin muttered and looked away.

"Yeah..." I smiled sheepishly. "Probably should have someone ready to catch her before I even tried that."

_Evans's POV_

"Hrrrngh..."

_Why do I feel like shit?_

_..._

_It feels like I've just been carried around for the past hour like a sack of fresh grain, had my back slammed against a chair, and had a hydraulic press try to crush my rib cage._

_I can't feel my sides._

_Little light made it's way into my eyes as I cracked my eyelids open._

_The first thing I saw was white. _

"The sun's already up?" Evans groaned.

It felt cold.

"I didn't expect the light to be so blinding."

_It must've been really bad if it's gonna make me see white._

Evans tried to cover his eyes with the back of his forearm, only for it to be caught on something.

That something was soft.

It was also as cold as ice.

"The... hell?"

"**Not quite.**" An authoritarian voice answered as the grip around his neck tightened. "**But close enough.**"

Evans's eyes snapped wide open and the first thing he did was produce a choked scream.

_Louis's POV_

"Urk..." Kevin coughed into his fist. "Might've had too much."

"You gonna be okay?" I asked as he staggered.

"Pro...bably gonna wake up... with a bad hangover..." Kevin hiccuped. "But I'll be fine."

I was feeling a little drowsy, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The others... however...

Adrian was supporting Derrick in one hand, who had all but collapsed, Dwiki in the other even though he only downed a single shot.

To my left, I had Amber slumped and leant onto my shoulder while she feet dangled in the air as I hefted her up by under her legs, causing her ass to stick out beyond my elbow while her back bent stiffly, all while Kevin slung his arm around my neck with lidded eyes to try and walk in a straight line.

If I'd say my reddened cheeks were from the effects of alcohol alone, I'd be lying.

"Almost... there..." I claimed. "Just... a few more... meters."

_Shift_

"You're up early." Yang yawned into her fist as she ran a hair down her messy golden mane.

It looked way too messed up and with the additional strands that stuck out made it look like it wasn't about to be disentangled anytime soon.

"Can't sleep?" She asked.

"He promised he'll be here by the time we woke up." The person on the table said with an easy smile, humming a happy tune to herself as her feline features flicked. "So when he gets back, I'm about to rub it in..."

She looked way too happy for someone that's not a morning person.

"What happened in that room Kitty Kat?" Yang couldn't help but stifle a laugh when that got the expected reaction as Blake tried to bury her reddened face in her book. It wasn't like she didn't know, unintentionally eavesdropping as she waited outside, but it was fun to mess around with her partner every once and a while.

"You... overheard?" The cat faunus asked as her eyes darted around nervously.

"I'm gonna take it things got... interesting." Yang sat down and propped her head with one hand. "Care to tell you good ol' partner about it?"

"Nothing like that happened." Blake's cheeks flushed as she tried to wave it off. "You're reading into things too much."

"Oh really?" Yang chuckled. "Cause I heard from Louis that you and Ru-"

Some gears clicked into place as lilac eyes widened.

had stopped working.

"Yang...?" Blake asked as amber eyes peered from atop her book.

"Louis asked if I wanted to kiss him too... " She put her hands to her chin. "Too..." Her eyes flashed crimson as she slammed both hands on the table. "Ruby did WHAT?!"

"Blake!" The cat faunus suddenly found the blonde brawler's hands clamped around her shoulders in a vice grip before she had any chance to escape. "You were there before me! How far did those two go?!"

"N-nooot that faaaar!" Blake tried as Yang shook her partner's upper body wildly. "It was juuuust an innocent peck, or as close as Ruuuuby can get to iiiit!" She manage to get out, before Yang's shoulders seized up.

"A peck." Yang's brows twitched. "Oh my god, my sister just gave her first kiss to Louis. Her first... kiss..." She groaned into her palms. "What's next?! We never gave her the_ talk_!"

"What?" Blake balked as she clapped her book shut, fully invested to the conversation.

"Me, Uncle Qrow, Dad..." Yang laughed bitterly. "It's just... it's Ruby y'know. We could never have afforded to taint her that way."

"Yang, you're lucky it's Louis she likes, and that we're surrounded by gentlemen like Ren and Jaune." Blake flung her hands up in the air. "What if Cardin and his bunch of ne'er-do-wells took advantage of her during initiation or afterwards?"

"Then they won't ever find a body. Or... bodies." Yang specified after she grit her teeth at that mental image which was actually possible.

"I can't believe this.." The black haired girl muttered as she flung her hands in the air. "No wonder she was always so innocent."

"Please don't tell Louis!" Yang begged as her nails started to dig into Blake's shoulders. "He'll take advantage of her!"

Blake raised her brow.

"He'll... He'll abuse her for lack of knowledge! What should I do? She's not even old enough date. Me, sure, I'm 17. But Ruby... my little Rubaby?!"

Blake's brow went even higher.

"I was just teasing when I said she should get with Louis. Sure, they could be together, I meant that. She has to grow up some time... but what if she starts sneaking into his room?!"

"Yang calm down. It's Louis. In fact, he tried to stop us from-" Blake's amber eyes widened as she just realized what she said. Damn her mouth.

"Us...?" Yang paused as lilac eyes met amber. "You didn't try to take advantage of Ruby too did you?"

"Do I look like I would?!" Blake yelped helplessly as she held out both hands.

"Hmm..." Yang pointed two fingers to her eyes, then flicked them towards her partner. "I've got my eyes on you partner..."

"I noticed." Blake replied with the roll of her eyes as the blonde brawler's irises turned back to lilac. "I swear I didn't try to make a move on her."

"We'll see about that." She muttered under her breath.

...

...

"So..." She shuffled uneasily after a minute of uncomfortable silence. "How good was he?"

"How... good...?" The resident cat faunus questioned.

"W-well..." She scratched the back of her head nervously. "If Ruby is really that committed, then I guess I have to see that she gets the best treatment... right?" Her shoulders rose and fell. "And who better to ask it to then the only other girl that he kissed who is totally not me." That last part came out in a rush. "I mean, how would I know what his dominant tongue feels like right... haha..."

Blake's eyes narrowed and made to open her mouth, but then her feline ears twitched when footsteps trampled on their doorstep.

The doors slammed open.

_Louis's POV_

"Help me a little... would ya girls...?" I groaned, crumpling onto the floor as the fatigue finally took over, causing the two beside me to fall flat to the ground with a pained groan.

"What happened?" Yang was on my side in an instant, looking relieved to be out of... whatever she and Blake were discussing beforehand.

"Too much..." Kevin growled as he held both hands to his mouth. "Should've gone with... 12 instead of... 15..."

"Just get him to the sofa before he throws up on you." I translated as I tried to prop myself up on the floor, causing Yang to nod and help Kevin up, while Blake came over to try and support me.

"Thanks." I muttered under my breath with my lids trying to close, but I forced them open.

Light footsteps padded in the direction of the corridors, and a sleepy Ruby turned towards the corner with a tired smile as she cutely rubbed her eyes. "Good... morning..." She yawned.

"Hey Rubes..." I smiled faintly as she teetered onto me. "Told ya I'll be here when you wake up."

"Yeah... So you did." She yawned with a tired smile. "Last night was fun... wasn't it Louis?" She drawled on sleepily as she clung to my side, smothering another yawn in my clothing as she nuzzled against my side. "I was a little scared at first... But you reassured me that everything was gonna be okay. You really did keep me up reaaaally late last night and I woke up with my body all sore and messed up."

_THUD_

Kevin's face planted onto the floor.

The first thing I felt was short hot breaths coming out in sporadic snorts and pants, as if it were coming out like a raging bull.

"Louis..." Yang hissed as her breaths came out in fine mists. "Just... what exactly did you do to Ruby last night...?!"

"You have got to be kidding me." I groaned and wondered what I had done in a previous life from the sudden headache I knew for a fact, was about to come on. "You were with us the whole time!" I looked to the cat faunus for help, but she just smiled coyly.

"I told you I was gonna get you back for last night... didn't I?" She asked as she fluttered her eyelids innocently and looked past me, where I felt searing heat wrap around my sides.

_Fuck_

"I'm calling the police." Kevin said as he held up his scroll and put it to the side of his face.

"Come back here!" Yang howled and lunged for me as I ducked and sprinted down the corridors.

**A/N**

**The prologue/setup chapters are finally done, so now we can move on to the main stuffs. I know some of you are more curious as to Evans's perspective in the Land of Darkness, so that'll be next!**

**PS. For those of you with... creative... imaginations, Salem didn't sit on Evans's face there. **

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white: Huh, same for me. I'm not sure I want to give them all Semblances, but we'll see.**

**LordDemolitions: Preeeeetty sure I mentioned it very early on that this is my real life friends. I'm just using their calling names and not our complete or last names because... well. Safety reasons. I don't think 75% of the Authors here at FF are that bad. I mean sure, the typical Harem protag, but Dwiki bad? Nah.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Mhmm. Ikr. Good thing it fits into the initials of our names.**

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Hey, glad you liked my fic so far. Binging through fics can be awesome. Binging through my fic? Even more so! Yeah, I do apologize for the Fall being dragged out a tad bit too long, but there were a ton of perspectives to focus on at that time. I just did what I did best and... got carried away. Also, if you don't mind, I used your idea here. Also also, if you like my story that much, please be sure to give it a Fav and a Follow to support me! I do really enjoy it when people do all 3. Follow, Fav and Review! **

**Sacke110: Glad to have you back! Glad you enjoyed everything but the corrupted Ruby. A small sacrifice to pay, no pun intended. Hope you'll stick throughout and forever more!**

**DankAnon: Ooh, that's an idea I could use. A daily life of Amber Evans. Sure. I mean... the RWBY verse is sorta based on fairy tales, so I'm sure the Big bad wolf gets a pass. I am not looking forward to writing it, not to say it would or wouldn't happen. Glad that you commented today, otherwise I'd get back to you next week!**


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N**

**It has come to my attention that some people thought that me writing my speech with the boys last chapter are a bit more vulgar then usual and less structured than usual but...**

**That's really how we go about things usually. Random funny tidbits that can lead from one thing to another. I'll try not to do it too much, for I understand some of you may come across it as 'Forced' or 'Rushed' humor.**

**Also, just finished Vol 7. Let me know your thoughts [Or rants. Yeah, definitely more of those] in the Reviews and we may discuss via PM.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

_Emerald's POV_

Emerald didn't know what to expect when Cinder strolled down the dimly lit corridors with both her and Mercury in tow.

They had been summoned out of the blue.

She couldn't help but fidget with her fingers as her eyes darted nervously back and forth between the floors and the windows, giving a view at the expanse of Grimm being spawned in seemingly endless amounts from the bottomless black muddy pools that's made out of god knows what.

A low, rumbling growl had her looking backwards, where an Alpha Beowolf twice it's usual size had just poked it's snout by the hallway behind them, sniffing the air for the blood of fresh prey, and then turned it's head towards them.

It's red irises gleamed as spittle and slobber cascaded down the gap between it's thick upper exoskeleton of a skull and it's fleshy bottom jaw. For a second there, it looked like it was about to charge at their direction when it bent a paw mid air, only to turn back and storm off towards... wherever it was heading to in the first place.

Her hands fell slump to her side and the air pumped out of her lungs, causing a sudden amount to rush out of her teeth.

She didn't even realize she had her fingers clamped around her weapon, gripping it so hard Thief Respite's grips nearly snapped in two.

When she made to look back, it was to see Cinder already gone and Mercury waiting for her at the end of the pathway with his arms crossed and a curious expression.

"Something tells me I'll won't and never will get used to the way things run around here." She muttered to herself, trying hard not to look back.

"You won't need to," Mercury answered nevertheless as she came to his side. "Not for long anyway. We're about to head for Haven in a few days. Don't know what's so urgent that the scary old Grimm lady just had to call us in."

"Shouldn't you worry about yourself first?" Emerald sniped.

"Hey, you just looked out of it." Mercury said as he raised both hands. Then his eyes snapped open as his head slowly rotated her way. "Unless you're thinking about your boyfriend who's en route via Hazel express, to which I can say I'm hurt."

"He's not my- Ugh, forget it." Emerald rolled her eyes as Mercury smirked cockily. "You know what, you're right. I would rather do him than you."

"I can assure you, only my legs are mechanic." He gestured at his pelvis. "The rest, is all organic."

"And that's precisely why." Emerald smirked smugly. "I would need a magnifying glass to even see it. Heck, I doubt it could even pierce through the first layer."

Mercury grinned back. "You're fine. At least back to normal now." He then turned around and started walking. "Let's go."

They quickly jogged up to Cinder's side and tried to maintain a steady composure as they turned at the final corner.

The trio eyed the enormous doors up and down. It seemed to be made of pure iron, tinted with a dark purple hue.

It was about 30 meters away.

Cinder took a step forward, followed by another.

Emerald gulped.

She wasn't ready for this.

None of them were.

_Deep breaths..._

She was scared shitless, and even if Mercury won't admit it or concealed it well enough, so was he.

It got her legs shaking and her heart pumping faster, even if all she's trying is to walk in a straight line.

They took one look at each other, then to their boss's back.

Cinder waltzed away, brimming with confidence while she approached without doubt or fear.

It's one of the reasons she admired her in the first place.

She just couldn't bring herself to do the same.

Their employer's hands rested on the door, Mercury rushed up to her side and place his hands beside Cinder's to push most of the weight, while Emerald did the same on the opposite end.

It felt cold and lifeless to the touch.

Emerald took a deep breath to ready herself for what's to come.

The tall doors opened with a creak and a heavy groan.

Suddenly, it looked like their demise wouldn't be so bad after all.

She was still as menacing as ever, her black robes that seemed to flutter in the air already declaring that they were but ants to her, maybe even less. Pawns ready to be disposed of as she wishes. Pawns who's lives are not even worth considering.

Her eyes trailed to the figure at the end of her arm.

Unlike most of the times where she had decided to remain still in her chair and let her minions or spare limbs do the dirty work, this time, she had her pale, veiny arm outstretched to keep a very familiar shaggy man pinned to the table.

It would've looked threatening, if only said figure...

Didn't have his left hand attached to her breast like a magnet, and squeezing it as if he was milking a cow.

Her image of the omnipotent goddess of death and destruction shattered into a million pieces.

"Mistress..." Cinder blinked once, twice, and then let her grimmified claws pinch her human arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Emerald did the same as she rubbed her eyes, even Mercury looked like he'd just slapped himself.

The one above all Grimm, the embodiment of hate and destruction, the incarnation of death who's motives were to divide humanity...

Was being molested by a mere Seer.

Cinder bowed and turned around. "It looks like you're busy. My apologies for the intrusion. I'll come back some other time."

"**No.**" Salem replied with a flat tone, red pupils penetrating the window to Evans's soul, not even bothered by the extra audience. "**I have summoned you for a reason.**" The pupil roved over to the corner of her eye, causing Emerald to seize up. "**Do you think my immortality had caused me to be so bored that I would have called you all here for nothing?**"

"Not at all, mistress." Cinder bowed respectfully, turning around and walked back in. "If I may ask, what is our purpose of being here?"

"**Witnesses.**" The divine being answered. "**A second pair of eyes for better judgment.**"

Emerald's eyes widened when she saw her grip around his neck grew tighter, causing his face to turn blue.

She was sure she saw the bulge in his tattered cargo pants twitch. She took in the scene for what it was, and her mind pieced 2 and 2 together.

_She requires witnesses to judge a mating ritual with a human concubine...?_

Emerald's face rapidly matched her hair as the not so pleasant mental image made it's way into her mind. The recent use of her tentacle to punish Arthur didn't help.

In fact, it made things much more... vivid.

_Don't project it. _

_Don't project it. _

_Don't-_

Mercury suddenly put both hands to his mouth and retched.

_Damnit!_

He poked his head out the doors just as it was closing and hurled his entire stomach out, making sure to leave every trace of breakfast outside the room.

Cinder just raised a brow as she watched her underling bent double, wasting breakfast for seemingly no reason.

The silver haired boy wiped the back of his arm across his mouth, and shot Emerald an unamused glare.

"I know you really hate me... like a lot..." Mercury growled, and for once, Emerald actually looked slightly apologetic. "But was that really necessary?!"

"**Do you always have such little control over your pawns?**" Salem asked without even looking in their direction, causing Cinder to shoot Mercury, who seemed keen to keep his eyes on Emerald for some reason, a hardened glare.

"They will behave. I sincerely apologize for their unwanted opinion." Cinder's eyes blazed with a yellow tinted flame, causing Mercury to stand up straighter, though his line of sight wasn't broken, and kept glacing at Emerald at the corner of his eye.

Emerald just shrugged.

"**Take a seat.**" She said nevertheless, attention for some reason hovering back to limiting Evans's air supply to a minimum, keeping him semi-conscious.

That was as good as a warning as any.

With the only noise in the room being Evans's gurgled choking and the scraping of his nails against the black wreathed cloth and the table, as silently as they could, they walked to the other end of the room and took a seat on the far end of the table, as far away from the commotion as they were gonna get, and only then noticed that Hazel was already sat across from them with his eyes closed.

"Less than a month." Mercury let out an impressed whistle as he took his stance beside Emerald, who was pulling a chair back for their employer. "That's faster progress than any of us. Where'd you find him?"

"A village not far off from the southernmost walls of Vale." Hazel grunted.

"He didn't even make it past Vale?" Mercury deadpanned. "Are you sure you got the right guy?"

"I am certain that question is mine to ask, and yours to answer," The bearded man replied as he cracked open one eye. "You are the ones who infiltrated Beacon and one of the few eyewitnesses here that actually saw his face."

"It looks like him." Emerald claimed as the skinny built figure kept writhing around in place. Even though he kept his hand squeezing and playing with her chest, Salem looked anything but pleased. "But... we just thought he would be..."

"More competent?" The burly man questioned.

"Yes." Both of them said in unison.

"I thought so as well." He sighed.

Arthur and Tyrian arrived soon after, with the tall man's reaction being only his eyes widening ever so slightly, and took his seat silently.

Tyrian however, shot the skinny man a hardened glare, as his neck craned a full 90 degrees to the left, eyes locked to Evans's the entire time as he backpaced, and leapt into his seat.

His lips peeled back into a furious snarl as he thought of maiming the Seer right here and now. She was sure she would too if he'd ever considered doing that to Cinder.

That, and so much more...

"FUAAAHAAAH!" Evans desperately gulped for air, latching onto his throat as he coughed and hacked on all fours once the divine entity let him go. "Hah... what the hell was that for?!"

"Watch your tongue!" Tyrian shrieked, his new, metallic tail shooting out as the tip of his stinger flew, lunging directly for his core. Evans's eyes widened as he spread his legs right on time to avoid getting impaled, while Tyrian's new extension just encircled him, scraping against the ground and rattling mid air, the stinger honed between his face like a predator would to prey.

"You are speaking to a goddess." He exclaimed proudly and needlessly, cackling maniacally as he saw a twinge of fear, though it was quickly concealed by a flat expression.

"**That,**" Salem answered slowly, her divine voice resounding throughout the room as she sat back down on her throne. "**Was for not waking up when your Queen demands it. Though I would say that you did not make a great... first impression.**" She adjusted her clothing so that it was free of wrinkles, and then reached for her torso, adjusting her breasts so that they were perfectly symmetrical.

She didn't look pleased, not one bit.

"How was I to know you were gonna take me here today?!" Evans threw his hands up in the air as he patted himself off any dust. "You didn't even give me a fair warning! I tried to latch onto your neck but it's too far out of reach. Hell, I tried to croak out an explanation even!"

"**I can see that.**" Salem's eyes trailed down to his waist, then she held out a finger as a dark orb festered and glowed menacingly. "**Do you have any last words before I vapourize you?**"

"Wait wait wait." Evans held out his hands frantically. "It was uhh... nice and soft...?"

"**Choose your next words carefully vermin,**" Salem said slowly. "**For it shall be your last.**"

"Well you do need me don't you?" He questioned with a raised brow. "You wouldn't have brought me here otherwise."

"**If you could prove your worth, only then shall I consider keeping you.**" The edge of Salem's lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "**Otherwise... well, my Nevermore has been looking at you for the past 10 minutes.**"

True to form, the avian creature's neck craned curiously to the side by the windowsill, beady eyes locked with the Evans's downed form.

"Anyway, why did you have to drag me all the way here?" Evans asked. "I was making clear progress. Heck," He held his arms out wide. "I was about to arrive in a few more days."

"It'll take longer than that." Hazel gave an unamused snort.

"Such disrespect." Arthur shook his head, then turned towards Hazel with a raised brow. The burly man didn't look concerned. Then, he faced Cinder and her two lackeys standing behind her. "Are you sure this is the correct man?"

"You saw the footage recorded from the Vytal Festival." Cinder waved off. "It is he."

"**Interesting.**" Salem chuckled, looking bemused. "**Tell me,**" She cooed. "**Are you not afraid at the sight of me?**."

"Why should I be afraid of someone who's gonna hire me?" He shrugged off, patting his shoulders free of dust. "It's bad work ethics."

"**I wonder how long that facade will last.**" She asked as she propped her head with one hand as if bored, then gestured towards the room with the other. "**Having seen our future and the fact that you decided to approach us, you do realize where you currently are, don't you?**"

"The Land of Darkness," Evans replied, looking outside the windows. "The home of Grimm and ex home of the God of Darkness."

"**Excellent.**" Salem's eyes widened slightly at the knowledgeable foresight, clearly only now acknowledging the otherworldly presence. In that moment, she looked like she might've even considered making him her second in command. "**And you know of my identity, do you not?**"

"Why would I be here otherwise?" He deadpanned. "You think any of your underlings will be competent enough to lead an army on their own?"

"Why you little-!"

"**Arthur.**" Salem purred with a saccharine tone, causing his shoulders to seize up as he remembered the last time he went out of line. "**Sit down.**"

"Yes... your grace." He hissed out the words and sent a glare Evans's way, not that Salem seemed to mind since he did as she asked.

"**Now, why don't you state your purpose as to why you're here, my dear.**"

"Sure thing." He shrugged. "But first..."

"**Hm?**" Salem raised a curious brow.

"I hope the water pump isn't clogged with the black sludge like it is out there," He jabbed a finger at the window, then lifted his arms to sniff it, drawing back immediately as he held a hand to his nose. "Cause I'm in a real desperate need of a shower."

Even being at the end of the room, with her nose scrunching up and her face rapidly becoming pinched, Emerald couldn't agree more.

_Louis's POV_

3 not so subtle knocks on the door woke me up.

It was more akin to someone slamming their elbow in rapid succession.

I shuffled in my sleep.

"Kid," A raspy voice yelled. "Ya there?"

"Five more minutes..."

Qrow somehow misinterpreted it as 'Come in'.

"I've made contact with kid Oz." He claimed and laid his rear roughly on the foot of my bed, causing the mattress to bounce up and down, nearly throwing me off it as the bed expanded on the other end.

Cracking open one lazy eye, I realized that was on purpose, if his shit eating grin was any indication.

Or that he was just that happy to have Oz back.

"Good for you." I growled as I rubbed my red rimmed eyes. "Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

"It is tommorow."

"It's like... 12 a.m"

"Exactly." He insisted with a chuckle, causing me to groan. "Anyway, he told us to come to reconvene at Mistral, Haven Academy to be exact, where he'll be meeting up with the headmaster there."

A pit opened in my stomach.

That was enough to snap my eyes open and pump enough adrenaline to keep me awake till next year.

"Wait wait wait, he's going there immediately?!"

Qrow shrugged.

"Alone?!" I shrieked.

"It's the closest to where the pipsqueak body of his is right now. Why?"

"Do you have his number?!"

"He contacted me via payphone, so there's no way to tell when he's call next." Qrow raised a suspicious brow. "Kid, what's wrong?"

"Gather everybody," I said, grabbing my combat vest as I hastily put a boot on. "We have to stop him before it's too late!"

"Wait." The elder man grabbed my shoulder, his eyes narrowed. "What's happening kid? I still don't trust you," He added when I opened my mouth. "And with the way my nieces act all goody goody around you, it gives me even less of a reason to."

"Then don't." I flailed my arms in the air through gritted teeth. "I don't care."

"You're not making this easy on me kid." Qrow scratched the back of his head. "I've never been very good at this kind of stuff. Probably never will be."

I just shot him a confused expression.

"Just because I don't trust you and your pack of... weirdos," His tone made it clear that was as polite as he was gonna get when defining us. "That doesn't mean I won't trust my nieces. You've kept them alive and safe throughout their time at Beacon, and I appreciate that. Really, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I'd usually drink to that, but I've heard from Yang you just had one hell of a night."

"This isn't time for a heart to heart Qrow." I groaned into my palms as I hopped on one shoe to put my other boot on. "You're sorry, I get it. Apology accepted, and all your gratitude is gratefully accepted and shall forever have a spot in my small heart." I said half heartedly. "Can we go now?"

"What's the rush?" Qrow chuckled back. "It's not like there's a traitor or spy at Haven Academy of high ranking that has access to the chamber where the Relic is stored at right?"

_Hurk_

_Cough _

_Cough_

"You okay kid?"

_Evans's POV_

"Dang, you guys are in a desperate need of a heating system." Evans said as he burst through the doors of the main chamber, where Arthur Watts was drumming his fingers away at the table impatiently, head leant in on one hand, and even Cinder looked like she wanted desperately to leave the room.

"The water here is as cold as ice."

"When you are done complaining." Cinder hissed through her teeth. "Perhaps you could tell us why you're here again? Or why I shouldn't burn you to a crisp where you stand."

"Tch, you're no fun." Evans spat some spittle on the floor and crossed his arms.

He was draped in a tucked in lime green gambeson over a dark gray collared shirt fastened with a brown leather belt above his hips, with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal padded gloves that ran all the way to his forearms, held together with a thick rope. He wore simple black trousers with a brown colored leather hip pouch strapped to his right thigh that looked small enough to store 3 fully extended scrolls side by side, and a pair of brown foldover boots.

"He looks like a clown." Arthur stated. "Especially with that tucked in overcoat."

"It's a Gambeson!" Evans shot back. "Light armor used back in the day."

"It looks like you wrapped yourself in a yoga mat." Cinder agreed.

"Uncultured swines." Evans muttered under his breath as he drew out White Knuckle Ride from his pockets.

He scanned the sea of faces, 3 of the elite frustrated for waiting so long, while his ride just kept quiet with his arms crossed, though his head was slightly tilted forwards.

_Is he... actually asleep?_

"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" He asked as he laid his hands to his hips, and put on his best smile. "You all know me by name, and for those of you who don't, I'm sure you don't wanna know, or don't particularly care to know."

"I change my mind." The mustached man's lips twisted into a smirk. "I'm starting to like him."

"You can call me whatever you like, and I'll do the same to you. Equal opportunity, right?" He held his arms out wide.

"**You are an interesting individual.**" Salem quipped from behind him.

"I live to please." Evans smirked when he caught Tyrian's face sour from the corner of his eye.

"Goddess you cannot be serious!"

Speak of the devil.

The narrow faced faunus was on him in an instant, tail wrapped around his waist as it squeezed and threatened to crush his spine.

"You are about to hire this... this joke?!"

"**Tyrian, sit. Down.**"

"Grrrh..." Tyrian shot Evans a dirty look, with him returning it with a content smirk.

"As to why I am here now, I have decided that siding with the good guys just isn't as fun anymore." Evans claimed. "Even if it means my brother's death in the hands of my own, I shall forever savor it, knowing that I changed this world for the better."

"You think that letting Grimm run rampant among the streets are better?" Mercury raised a brow.

"Humans." Evans sneered. "Ungrateful, selfish fools that do nothing but complain to their gods when their wish isn't granted." He smirked as he half turned to look over his shoulder. "Isn't that right?"

Salem's smile died an ugly death.

"That's exactly why you decided to become one yourself, isn't it?" Evans turned, looking at death straight in the eye. "So you could do as you please, cow people into submission when they learn of your existence, and make them fear you."

Evans started to pace around in a circle with his arms linked behind his back.

"What would the world be like under the rule of the almighty Salem."

"**And just how much do you know?**"

Her tone was flat, her shoulders shook. As everybody observed, their eyes slowly widened.

"I know you and Ozma had 4 children capable of magic." Evans shrugged as he steadied his pace around the room, driving his finger towards the ceiling as if to count it. "I know you, my Queen, feel loss greater than any man woman or child on Remnant ever could. You sacrificed the children you've loved, you've fed, you've raised for so long, only to kill them with their blood on your hands. You had to live your immortal life, killing the man you once loved, the man you've fought so hard to raised back from the dead, over and over." He couldn't hide the gleeful smile. "And over again."

The room started to tremble and shake. There was a high pitched shriek that seemed to be emanating from far beyond, growing louder and louder.

Emerald and Mercury staggered back.

Salem grit her teeth and closed her eyes.

"You have suffered so much." Evans calmly approached her, putting his hands in hers as he bowed down and kissed her fingers. Behind him, he heard Tyrian wail. "My Queen, clearly, this world needs no logic to deny that you are the fairest of all."

The tremors and the shrill screaming subsided, and Salem hissed out a bated breath.

"**So, you are without a purpose?**" She asked curiously.

"The late Torchwick who died in an Atlesian Airship joined to survive." Evans said as he shot back up. "Cinder joined for power. Hazel, for revenge. Arthur for..."

_Shit, Volume 7 wasn't even out yet when we died!_

_Arthur Watts... rouge Atlesian scientist._

_Rouge... rouge..._

_Why would he go rouge unless... _

"...Recognition ...?" Evans offered, causing Arthur to scoff while his mustache twitched in amusement, but made no move to deny it.

_Thank you oh god of lucky guesses._

_Scientists and their pride. _

_I'll have to look deeper into that..._

"And Tyrian, for self-satisfaction." Evans couldn't help but let the cold beat of sweat splash down onto the floor as relief washed over him. That was a close one.

_I have to watch my words from here on out. They think I know anything and everything about the show._

"I, on the other hand," He gestured to himself. "Need no such satisfaction. As long as it is the will of the Queen, then I will see it through."

"You have no wishes of your own? No desires?" Salem asked.

"My only desire is to do so with Emerald by my side."

Everybody's gazes snapped at the green haired girl.

Opposite to how he'd thought she would react, she paled at the sudden mention of her name, looking like she was about to pass out as her red eyes were met by the divine presence's own.

"Just like how you once were, my Queen." Evans slowly strolled over with a cocky smirk on his face. "I am vulnerable to such emotions as well."

Mercury frowned as he looked to be considering whether he should put himself in between the two or not, but Cinder just shook her head, and with gritted teeth and his eyes locked on Evans, he took one step back.

"She," Evans grabbed her shoulders. "Is my liability, my lease and my guarantee that I would be staying here for a while. You needn't worry about where my loyalty lays, for I have already proven that."

He tossed his scroll on the table, playing the exact moment when his knuckle dusters had connected to his best friend's chest.

"So, my Queen." Evans bowed with one fist planted on the floor. "Should I take the first step," He smirked. "Or did I entirely skip that phase and you trust me to take two at once?"

_Later..._

"Damn..." Evans said as he patted his chest in relief. "That was close."

His heart was hammering against his ribcage, his breaths coming out in ragged pants.

_Can't believe I just went through that without much problems. _Evans thought as he explored his new home, though his mind wasn't in it.

_I was honestly expecting one of them to step out of line and kill me._

As if on queue, some clicking and clanking got him to turn around, right on time to get entangled with a mechanical tail.

_Me and my big mouth..._

The stinger was mere inches from his left eye.

"You. Will. Show. Her. Respect." Tyrian spat in his face. "She is a goddess. Goddess I tell you! Do you know what that means?!"

"Like I said earlier in the conference room," Evans waved off. "I plan to, once she does the same."

"Are you that ignorant?!" Tyrian wailed as he scraped at his face which were full of unhealed scars from the battle against the Berserker armour, with his loss of sanity and habit of marking himself only adding to it. "She is the one above all. You said it yourself! You should be grateful to have even been in the presence of her. To feast your eyes on such..." Tyrian cackled as he stared off into the ceiling, lifting Evans up in the air by a foot or two. "Such beauty!"

"That," Evans just raised a brow as he stared down, unimpressed. "I am. But you have to know that I came here to serve her, not you."

"We all serve under her, but make no mistake." Tyrian hissed. "You're weaker, you serve a lesser purpose!"

"Let me make one thing clear." Evans said as he slammed his fist on the metallic plate, causing his tail to fall and slump on his side.

The glowing purple liquid that was visible through the glass containing a toxic substance dimmed and flickered, completely exhausted of it's energy.

"No..." Tyrian's eyes widened as he clawed desperately at his automaton tail. "No, no, NO! Not again! I am still useful to her! I will not be shamed again in the presence of... of..." He screamed as his eyes locked into Evans's. "Of children!"

"You think you're stronger, that your position on the chessboard is absolute." Evans jeered as Tyrian tried furiously to restart his tail, tapping it's sides and shaking it like a bird that just fell out of the sky. It only rattled. "I'm here to tell you- maybe even show you, that you're not."

"You..." The scorpion faunus pointed a finger his way. "What have you done?!"

"Do you want your poor little fake extension to come back to life?" Evans opened his palm to reveal White Knuckle Ride's furiously glowing rings. Tyrian gritted his teeth.

"You will suffer for this!" Tyrian shrieked. "I'll make you pay!"

"I'm only offering a choice." Evans mocked as he extended his hands, causing Tyrian to swipe at them. "Ah ah ah. Tsk tsk." The shaggy man chided as he waved his fingers. "Beg."

"What absolute mocker-"

"Then I guess you're just gonna have to fix it on your own." Evans turned around and walked a few steps, causing the narrow faced man to lunge at him, his arm blades out and ready to impale, only for his body to slam back down and be anchored by the weight of his tail.

His eyes glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as he wailed and screamed as it dragged and scraped it's entire weight across the floor like he was carrying his souls of the people he's murdered.

Desperately, he shot at the curly haired man, only for the bullets to either ping off his Aura, or bounce off his clothing.

"Don't say I didn't warn you about it being body armour." He sighed as he flecked off shrapnel. "Arthur won't help." He added as he crossed his arms, enjoying the expression the tortured faunus was giving him, the man everybody assumed was insane and killed without reason. "We've been assigned to seek out the Maiden and cooperate along with Cinder. I guess I can put in a good word for you. Let's see..."

Evans held out a finger. "Sick, maybe? Oh no no, that won't do... " He held out his second finger. "Hmm, how about I say you're traumatized by that armour and couldn't come along?" He nodded to himself. "You're too scared and decided to bail out at the last moment. Yes, that's a feasible option."

"No, no, Please!" Tyrian begged as he fell on his knees. "I want to be of use to her! To the goddess! I can't be useless!" He shouted. "Not now... Not again..."

He bowed until his forehead touched the floor.

"Please..." He spat out the words, even as tears cascaded down the side of his cheeks. "Help me fix my tail. I'd do anything to proof myself useful to her. Anything but to feel like that again."

Evans smirked as he pulled the faunus's head by his ear and dragged it so that they were mere inches apart, fully aware that his Aura could shatter with one or two hits delivered by the broken man.

"Good. Just so we're clear pal." He suddenly raised his voice. "I AM EVANS!" He shouted in his face. "I'm nobody's bitch. You..." He jabbed his finger into the narrow faced man's chest. "Are mine." He jabbed his thumb back at his chest.

"I don't need to know you." He scoffed. "You... only need to know me. And I will be the one!" He shouted at his face, close enough that it covered Tyrian with spittle. "Got it?"

Tyrian nodded.

The rings around White Knuckle Ride dimmed and died.

The tail fizzled and hissed, emitting sparks as it turned back to life, and Tyrian stroked it as if it were a beloved pet.

He broke down crying in relief.

Evans smirked as he waltzed away, laughing mockingly for extra added measure and turned to a corner.

He strolled a good 20 meters or so, and then glanced around to make sure nobody was there.

He immediately sagged down and fiddled to unzip his pants.

It was damp.

Damp? That's an understatement.

It was soaked, drenched even.

Warm liquid trailed down his thighs.

The worst part was, he didn't know whether it was from Salem... or Tyrian.

_Damnit Lou..._ Evans cursed in his head. _Why do you always get the easy part...?_

**A/N**

**Huh, good job Evans.**

**At least it wasn't in front of Emerald.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**DankAnon: Huh, never thought about it that way, I'll be sure to have Amber Evans moment. I'm not sure what to say about the 'Epic Destruction of my virginity' Because I'm not sure what you're talking about *Whistles innocently* Wait, was there a mischevious Nora last chapter? I don't think so...**

**Guest: Probably total annihilation via Grimm**

**paradox0.5white: Yeeeeaaaahno. All he's gonna do with that is delete every possibility or reality where he isn't the Harem Protag and probably break this fic.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Sometimes, I do too. Then again, it's cinnamon roll Ruby.**

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Hey, sorry for the double message, but I'd thought you hadn't done both yet, so I thought I just had to send that PM haha. I know for a fact that my chapter came out after Couer's new [Null]. So when I didn't see my story in your list, I thought you weren't gonna get chapter updates, thus the PM. For feeling offended, please, by all means, do comment! I may be an ok writer, but that doesn't make me infallible. Heck, going back to check on the last chapter, towards the end it did feel a little rushed, but I did want to wrap up the Prologue so that it didn't end up extended and draggy like the Fall of Beacon. Might add stuff to make the flow of the chapter a bit better. Thanks for the info!**


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N**

**Okay I made a bit of an error a few chapters ago. Before sleepy Ruby came out, Yang said it was ok for her to date because she was 17. I completely forgot it's after the fall of Beacon and they're all canonically 18 now while Ruby is 16. My b.**

_Louis's POV_

"Why does Evans always get the easy part?" I muttered under my bated breath while the boys ran back around the room and forth like panicked ants.

_Really Ozpin? 2 entire months to convince Oscar and the first thing you make us go to you?_

_You're halfway around the globe for fucks sake!_

_Oscar's POV_

Oscar stared out with a distant look in his eyes while his feet crunched on the dry grass below him as he threaded through the dense forest. There was a certain humidity in the air around them, the dark clouds rolling hastily across the skies, both indicators that there would be heavy downpour very soon.

He hastened his pace and tightened the straps around his backpack as he sprinted in a direction for what he hoped, lead to something.

Or someone.

Lightning crackled.

Thunder boomed.

The first droplets of rain fell. It felt like a barrage of bullets prickling the surface of his skin, as soon, engulfed him in a sheen of water.

His torn white shirt was now not only dirty, but drenched. His thick, orange, farming gloves felt like sacks of grain with the moisture it's absorbed, and his boots were soaked from within, but he could do nothing but move onward.

When he finally caught sight of a bus stop, only then did he dare to slow down... and trip.

...

After ridding a boot of all it's contents, he wrung out his patched up socks and rested them between the crevices of a wooden bench, along with his gloves and his ragged clothing.

How dumb must he have looked. Half naked, shivering in a bus stop and caught by heavy downpour.

If anybody spotted him like this, Oscar could only wish that lightning struck where he stood.

"_Now now,_" Ozpin chuckled from within, resounding in his head. "_Don't be so negative._"

With the certain set of circumstances, Oscar couldn't help but be anything but.

_'Are you sure we're headed in the right direction?'_

_"Positive." _The sentient presence replied. _"I may have lived for centuries, but my memories remain intact and sharp."_

"You could have at least sounded certain." Oscar deadpanned as he tried to dry his scrawny body by patting it down with one of his wet gloves, squeezing it dry and running it across his chest. Squeeze, dry and repeat. "Even you don't sound so sure."

He still thought that this was a crazy idea, or if the voice within his head really did existed, but for now, if only to shut him up and retain his sanity, he would follow the directions of this... Ozpin.

Funny too, the fact that the voice in his head had a name that sounds like the first two letters of his first name, and the first 3 letters of his last put together. Then again, it could just be a coincidence, just like how he, out of all people, was supposed to be a host for a spirit of a dead man.

_That is the last time I'm going through what dad eats..._

His body suddenly tensed up as chills travel down his spine.

His breathing grew sporadic and his eyes darted left to right.

He looked to his surroundings, but found nothing there. It didn't do anything for the queasy feeling he had, like a pit of rage opened up in his stomach, swallowing him whole.

"What...?"

_"My apologies Oscar I..."_ Ozpin dwindled off. _"I suddenly feel... unexplained jealousy, as if somebody is running their hands through what's mine."_

"What, like your belongings?"

_"No." _Ozpin stated enigmatically._ "More of like... somebody is... claiming what used to be mine by purposefully grabbing it and shoving it in my face like a piece of meat." _Then after a while he added. _"A pale piece of meat..."_

"You can sense if someone's stealing from you? Even if your items could technically be passed off as heirlooms?" Oscar snorted. "That's neat."

_"This has never happened before. I will attempt to mute it, for both our sakes."_

"O...kay..." Oscar stated as the feelings of jealousy regulated and died down. "So uh..." His eyes roved over to the skies, trying hard to switch the topics and not to think of the fact that they might be lost. "Your... students was it?"

"_Yes._" Ozpin replied. "_What about them?_"

"We're sort of stuck here for a while so... tell me," The short boy asked. "What are they like?"

There was nothing but silence for a moment, and Oscar had to question if the voice in his head heard him. When he tried to repeat the question again, right as he was opening his mouth, a mental image flared up into his head, showing perfect clarity of 9 young people with one even seemingly his age, with a sheer majority of them being women.

He could see the varieties of outfits each were clothed in, each with different cultures from differing kingdoms.

They looked happy to be in each other's company, and Oscar could sense an untold camaraderie existing despite it being a still image.

"There's... so many."

"_Well I do own a school._" Ozpin chuckled within his head. "_These are just few of many that manage to stand out in my eyes. Team RWBY with an addition of an L, and Team JNPR..."_

He sounded distant as he said it, lost in a moment of nostalgia.

Oscar nodded, and then continued to scan the sea of faces, but one stood out more than the others.

He had a strange open jacket with a brand Oscar hadn't seen before, 3 diagonal squares side by side that eventually formed a triangle with a word under it in a jumbled blur, but Oscar could tell that it started with a letter _a_ followed by a _d_ and ending with an _s_. Then again, it could just be the fact that Oscar had lived in rural areas for so long and that he rarely visited malls, only going to a major city to help his parents in transporting fresh fruits and vegetables for the region of Anima to eat.

The tall man had his face set in an uncertain smile, something that said he doesn't belong, while a blonde girl wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed her other at the shorter girl with a red hood, treating her as a makeshift armrest.

He wore navy blue jeans and had 2 black hilts strapped to his belt, while his eyes were just... full of concern, like he's witnessing a friend on their deathbed.

"Who's the guy in black?" Oscar finally plucked enough courage to ask.

Ozpin was silent, and after a moment, sighed.

"_Mr... Louis._" Oscar could feel him age twice his age within his head. Is that a good thing? Would he also feel the same stress and rapid aging?

"_Mr Louis was murdered by someone whom we thought were one of our own._" Ozpin explained. "_Obviously he thought the same. Those two were pretty close in their classes, or so I was told by the other lecturers. Unfortunately,_" An image of a scraggly man with stubble and wavy hair popped up, overshadowing the complete image in darkness. "_It didn't seem to be the case and tragedy struck, leading to the Battle of Beacon._"

"Beacon... " The boy muttered. "It was... destroyed about 2 months ago, right?"

"_Color me surprised,_" Ozpin chuckled as the image of the shaggy man disappeared, and the image of both teams remained. "_I thought you told me news does not travel to these parts at all._"

"They do, just... not as quickly." Oscar shrugged. "So... what happened?"

"_He was competing in the Vytal Tournament,_" When Oscar didn't say a word and raised a brow, Ozpin explained. "_A tournament that happens annually, where faunus and human alike compete for their respective kingdoms. It was an event made to unite all 4 kingdoms, and it was meant to continue that way. Our enemies see it fit for it to bring an opposing message, however. When it came to the singles round, Mr Evans,_" He hissed out his name. "_Either has a Semblance dangerous enough to have obliterated his Aura in an instant, or that he had this hidden power and it went undetected right under our noses._"

"Sounds fatal."

"_That, it was._" Ozpin audibly growled. "_Mr Louis was unable to take the brunt of the devastating blow and..._"

"I'm sorry."

...

...

"_What are you apologizing for?_" Ozpin asked in return. "_The past is the past and I'm just telling you what you wish to know._"

"I'm sorry for even asking." Oscar apologized again. "It must be hard on you."

"Indeed." The sentient presence within his head agreed. "They are my students, therefore I treat them like one of my own. I'm certain every teacher under my wing does."

Awkward silence reigned fell on them once more, and Oscar took the time to scan the faces of his students properly. His eyes trailed off to the short girl from before. She was cute, with her silver eyes glaring upwards and the bottom of her jaw set in a pout.

His eyes flicked back to the blonde, whom had her chest exposed, and then back to the small girl. He could imagine it, her wearing nothing but a white two piece as silver eyes looked up at him.

He could feel his cheeks heating up, which was a welcome relief in the cold rain.

Her hands slowly reached towards her back as it fiddled with her bra, and then Oscar mentally heard a soft click.

Suddenly, a wave of pain lanced through his head, causing him to grab it with both hands.

"What..." The farm boy struggled to get out as he writhed out in pain. "Was that?!"

"_That,"_ Ozpin replied. _"Was for thinking of my students in such a irresponsibly inappropriate manner. You do realize I can see what you're trying so desperately to see right?"_

"Well I'm sorry that I don't get to see much good looking women in the farm!" Oscar's cheeks flared up in embarrassment.

He couldn't help it! She was really cute!

"_And I'm sorry that I was put in the body of a pubescent child._" The immortal soul shot back, not sounding sorry at all. "_Really, people of your age should not even be exposed to such material. It's not good for the brain. To whom should I blame your overactive imagination to_?"

His parent's weren't as discreet as he thought, attempting to hide magazines under their bed.

Ozpin scoffed. "_Parents nowadays... do so again, and I shall see to it that you know what a real migraine feels like._"

Oscar frowned, but didn't retaliate.

Could anybody blame him?

They were really beautiful!

Her especially!

Oscar saw the fading image sharpen to perfect clarity once more, and his eyes immediately shot to the black haired girl with cat ears. How he hadn't noticed before, he wasn't so sure. Her face was set in an unreadable expression, the bottom half being covered by her book, but her eyes did rove over to the tall one from before. The one with the red hair and bronze armour that stood beside her however, had her shoulders and her cleavage exposed.

Very, very exposed.

"Agh!" Oscar suddenly yelled as he crumpled on the floor. "Really?!"

"_You had been given a fair warning."_ Ozpin said as the image began to fade out completely._ "Think of my students in such a way, I shall make sure it gets worse, each and every time._"

Oscar groaned.

Could a Grimm just swallow him whole so that they couldn't meet up?

_Growl..._

_Snarl_

A Beowolf broke the treeline and pounced out, sniffing the air not 10 meters away.

_"Didn't I warn you to be careful of what you wish for?"_

As his back touched the cold steel of the shelter, he couldn't help but elicit a small whimper. The Beowolf's head turned to him immediately, red eyes gleaming with malicious intent. Only two words popped into his mind.

_Damn you Ozpin._

"_Actually, that's 3."_ Ozpin felt the need to ammend._ "Also, watch your language._"

_Shift_

The shattered moon's light shone dimly through the windows that led to the balcony, further muted by white curtains that cascaded all the way down to the floors, touching the white marble tessellations that evenly coated the room. Illumination bounced off white satin sheets and off to the supports of the bed, where it was further reflected in a huge, oval mirror all the way at the opposite end of the room. Below it, an ornamental white table with multiple cabinets stood, while a figure has her back against it's edge as she bickered with a man with a white mustache.

On the sides of her alabaster face were sapphire drop earrings that shone and twinkled like stars. Her ponytail had grown out and cascaded down to the back of her knees. She wore a short, glittering dress with a color gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat. A long-sleeved blue shrug was worn over it, with the Schnee crest printed behind it, fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three pendants dangling below her throat. Right below the hem of her skirt, dark blue wedge heels clasped themselves to her delicate feet.

_Weiss's POV_

"You will show me respect young lady, do you hear me?!" The mustached man shouted as his tall stature loomed over the heiress, enshrouding her in his shadow.

"But I didn't-"

"No buts!" He roared, sending the heiress into silence. "I have tolerated more than enough from you. You think you could have left for Beacon without my consent? My funding?! MY PERMISSION?!"

The heiress didn't reply, and instead stared up defiantly into his eyes.

"I'll have you know that you are staying here under _my_ roof, and under _my_ rule. The only reason you aren't left out there to starve and die after Beacon fell is because_ I_ picked you up out of the kindness of my heart!" He roared as he jabbed a finger accusingly her way. "You will not go against me! Not like this! Do I make myself clear?!"

"It isn't even your money to spend with in the first place," Weiss countered with a scowl as she crossed her arms. "You married to inherit the family nam-"

A hand printed itself onto the heiress's pale cheek, marking it read as her neck snapped to the side.

Weiss can only stare back in shock.

"I see now that my decision to allow you to thread through foreign land was a huge mistake." Jaques said calmly, fixing his tie. "I'd have thought, that sending you to Vale would be the breakthrough you needed to spread the good will of our company, a chance for me to see if your grit to become heiress of the SDC wouldn't waver. Instead, I see now that it has had a more... negative impact on you, dear daughter."

He held out his hand with his scroll out.

"Especially after conversing with... this knave you dare call a man."

Weiss's eyes widened.

The scroll showed her and Louis in the locker room, right after the end of the doubles round.

Right before he died and everything went south.

_"Cheer up Ice Queen," The short haired man chuckled, so full of life. "I was joking. Come on, your dinner's on me."_

_"You don't have to-" Louis held out his hand._

_"Your dad canceled your credit card the other day, did he not?" I asked with a cocky smirk._

_"How did you- Right..." Weiss sighed. "This is gonna need some getting used to."_

_"You're telling me." Louis laughed as he sealed Obsidian Nova inside the lockers._

_"Actually, Louis, I-"_

_"Winter?"_

_"Mhmm..." Weiss nodded as she bit her lower lip nervously as she fiddle with the hem of her skirt._

Weiss could remember it.

Her switching back and forth between the only family member that she actually considered as one, or...

Her friends which she considered her family, despite it being a year.

_..._

_"You could just come late," The man with the black jacket rolled up to his elbows said after a moment of silence. "Besides, it's the middle of the day. Don't worry, we'll save your seat." He waved off._

_"You'd... do that?" Weiss raised her brow._

_"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" He returned a question towards her by raising his own brow._

"You've been spying on me?!" She shrieked in realization as she nearly swatted the scroll out of his hands, only for her father to retract it.

"Did you really think that being out of my reach would mean that I would turn a blind eye?" Jaques scoffed. "I've had my sights on you the day you left without even saying goodbye."

Weiss was speechless, with only disbelief and disgust visible on her face. The pain from the slap was muted by the Aura she possessed, but what drove her into silence was the realization of facts that finally kicked in.

The facts that the moment she returned here, her life as a huntress was over.

There was no going back.

She was trapped.

Trapped under her father's command until she would yield and crumble like ice, only to be sculpted and reformed in his image once more.

Trapped, knowing that she would never see the faces of her teammates ever again. To never know if Louis was still alive after all that.

Trapped, bound to a fate that she would continue to fight for.

A fate that she only partly wanted to be involved in, and while her mind says yes her heart cracked and shattered in opposition, refusing to comply. Refusing...

To give up.

"I shall give you one," He held up a finger for further emphasis. "Last chance, to redeem yourself. Should I see you worthy of claiming the family company, then you shall have it. But so far your methods have not been..." He waved his wrist in a circle. "Convincing, as of late, so I would need you to work harder in order to... persuade me."

Weiss stood up straight, one hand rested atop the other in front of her waist.

Just like a proper heiress should.

"Ah, I know." Her father suddenly perked up. "This decision was rash, but I was going to tell you about it eventually. I'll be holding a charity funding about 2 weeks from now. Would you practice your singing, daughter? It would not do for the heiress of the SDC to not make an appearance there."

"Yes..." Weiss's lips were pursed for a moment, before settling in a thin line.

If there's anything she'd learnt in her time at Beacon...

_Weiss whimpered as she burried her face into Winter's chest. _

_The Dragon Grimm was too powerful, and it was about to end them._

_"I'm sorry Ruby... I couldn't help more..."_

_"Close your eyes Weiss." Winter assured._

_This was it._

_"Lou, what are you?!-" _

_"**Tch... I missed...**"_

It's that her friends wouldn't just give up on her.

"Oh, and daughter?"

So...

_"This is for my mother... and... FOR BEACON!"_

Why should she?

"Yes father?"

"Be sure to be on your best behavior." Jaques's voice was distant, mumbled even, as he exited the room. "It wouldn't do for a heiress to act out of line." The mustached man's smile wasn't short of saccharine as he glanced over his shoulder.

"I shall do my best..." She quickly wiped a lone tear that cascaded down the side of her face with her wrist as she stared at the closing door. "Father."

The door clicked shut.

_Louis's POV_

_Assuming this trip would even turn out well, and we don't encounter obstacles like Raven's Tribe, the Queen Lancer Weiss fought, the White Fang, not to mention Cinder and her crew are probably already waiting at Haven Academy..._ I groaned at the analytical rundown I had inside my head. _I just have to hope that we make it there on time without issues._

_Best case scenario? _

_Evans somehow delays the shit out of their plan with the power of winging it or that we somehow get there first._

_Worse case scenario?_

_Cinder is at Raven's camp right now and attempting to persuade the older Brawnwen to her side, or, already reached the chamber containing the Relic of Knowledge and have Mercury and Emerald stationed there on standby. Adam is going solo an en route to Haven using his creepy stalker skills that somehow can sense Blake even a hundred miles away and Evans is presumably dead the moment he arrived since he hasn't come back to Amber as of this morning._

_..._

_Ugh..._

_Who am I kidding?_

_We're with the main 8._

_I must be delusional to think that nothing's gonna go wrong._

_Weiss will have to wait..._

_Hold on just a little longer snow white..._

"Penny, are we ready for takeoff?" I asked over my scroll as I pinched my nose ridge.

It buzzed and crackled for a second, before a familiar jovial tone took over.

"We are flight ready! Everybody may board now Friend Louis!" Penny shouted over the intercoms that was linked to everybody's scrolls, causing me to jerk the scroll away from my face immediately.

"Good... to know that Penny." I replied as I rubbed my ear that was definitely ringing at that point. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome Friend Louis!" then after a moment, added. "This would be first time I will go in an intercontinental trip together with friends! This is sensational! My memory is on the verge of overheating with overflowing excitement! Is this what it means to have a field trip among fr-f-f?"

"Uhh... Penny...?" I asked with concern obvious in my voice. "You... doing ok there?"

A few clicks and a whirr and a loud beep sounded on the other side, and only then did she reply.

"I must have glitched my systems with syntax errors due to being unable to contain such sensational feelings. Do not worry Friend Louis! I have rebooted my systems. As I previously stated before getting interrupted, is this what it means to have a field trip amongst friends?"

"Sort of." I admitted. "Though remember that we're not here just to sight see," And after a moment I added. "And that this might get dangerous."

"Of course. It would be just like the missions at Beacon all over again!"

I shrugged. _She's not wrong there._

"Friend Ruby and I have a lot to catch up on. I have yet to interact much with the others. Do you think we would have time to catch up in a slumber party?"

"I'm... pretty sure the girls would be glad to entertain that idea when we reach there." I smiled and nodded, even though the front camera wasn't on. "Louis out."

_Well, if my own guys can pack up in this sudden notice, even if it is a rushed mess, Team RWBY should at least be more prep-_

"Wait wait wait, where's my toothbrush?" Ruby asked as she burst into rose petals.

_...pared...?_

I felt something in my hands, and when I made to glance down, apparently I was holding a bright red suitcase.

_I'm pretty sure that wasn't there a second ago._

A trail of rose petals led to the open doorway, disappearing over a corner that leads to presumably, the bathroom.

That trail of rose petals suddenly came back in a blur, though all my brain managed to process was a rush of air, and then I felt some weight on my hands, which for some reason, are outstretched.

Soon, I was carrying a huge pile of items that just seemed to get larger with every passing second, ranging from spare clothes, her black Volume 4 corset and a few of it's identical spares, an array of Dust cartridges of different types for Cresent Rose enough to hold off a siege, packets of cookies, more packets of cookies, weapon magazines, comic books, and the list goes on.

The pile went as high enough as to cover my eyesight.

_And I'm hella sure those weren't there a minute ago!_

"Rubes!"

"What?" The small reaper asked back as she continued to grab and add items on top of the already huge stack.

"Can't you just fit this all in your suitcase?!" I wobbled unstably. "Plus, you don't have to bring like... everything!" I strained to get out as my arms almost gave away under the tremendous weight.

"But... but..."

"Just the necessities..." I nearly tripped right then and there when I crouched down and attempted to set the pile down on the floor. It rose to a little over my height. "Please...?"

"But these are necessary." She pouted cutely as she stomped on the floor. When I didn't relent and instead rewarded her with a semi deadpan stare, she crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine! But I'm taking my toothbrush with me."

_Toiletries are considered necessities compared to any of these..._ I deadpanned internally as I eyed the stack up and down, prompting me to shake my head. Leather brown boots appeared out of the corner of my eyes, causing me to glance upwards.

"Are you sure he's gonna be there?" Yang asked as she passed by me, carrying nothing but a simple yellow duffel bag with dark edges in contrast to her sister.

Yang was wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging that was zipped up halfway, revealing her bright orange crop top underneath, with it's long sleeves rolled up to her elbows to reveal her muscular forearms. She wore a thick brown collar that matched her jacket in terms of color on the outside, though a view from my height over her revealed an orange interior that wrapped around most her neck. She also wore tight jet black trousers that clung and wrapped around her legs, outlining her muscular thighs. Around her hips and over the tails of her coat is a brown belt, which has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. Thick dark leather boots clung onto to her feet, which was almost knee length, with a purple bandanna tied around her left knee.

Basically, her Volume 4 outfit, without a mechanical automaton replacing her right arm.

"I mean Team JNPR did say that he... you know..."

"Died?" I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess Qrow has some explaining to do when you guys join em on the ship."

"If this is gonna spiral off to the time he tries to woo girls in a bar due to their measly skirt length..."

"Trust me, it'll be worth it to listen to him this time." I said regardless, ignoring the curious expression of uncertainty she sent my way. "And I'm sure he's not that drunk at this time of the day to segway onto another one of his fantasies."

"You can never tell with him."

"True."

"Why can't _you_ just explain it to us?" She crossed her arms.

"And steal his thunder for what must be the third time now?" I scoffed and waved a hand in front of me. "He'll start to think that I'm trying to convince both his nieces to sleep with me."

"As if that didn't already happen..."

"Hey. You know the truth of what happened." I deadpanned. "Still blaming me for it?"

"No," She smirked back with slightly darkened cheeks. "Just like to rub it in the face. Your reactions make it all worth it lover boy."

"To be fair, I tried my best not to look." I admitted. "Besides, most of you were pretty bunched up in my face so I can't really get a good look anyways, not unless one of you decide to get up." _Which I was glad didn't happen._

"Is that a confession so that you don't get your ass kicked, or a pleading suggestion that you _want_ to get a better look?" Yang teased, poking her tongue out while her crossed arms purposefully bounced her assets.

"A just-so-you-know statement." I stated as my cheeks darkened from the distant memory. "Please tell me you're gonna do something about it."

"You could hold him down while we beat it out of him." The blonde brawler grinned evilly.

"Sounds like a plan." I grinned, which didn't last long as I was forced to shield my face immediately against an array of laundry erupted from within the red luggage the moment I clicked it open.

...

...

"Damn... she always this messy?"

"Only when she's excited for a trip." Yang admitted, shaking her head from past memories that must've felt like yesterday. "Won't be a first. Remember Mount Glenn?"

_Well, that time she was mad at me and I was concentrating on the arc itself, so no._ I wanted to say, but I ended up nodding anyway.

"She packed like, half our room in. Well, that was till Weiss gave her a good reprimanding and I had to convince her not to get rid of Ruby's stuff using Fire Dust."

"Sounds just like them." I laughed, and when I made to look up, it was to see Yang's saddened expression.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"Hey, we'll get her back. I promise you that." I got up and laid a hand on her shoulder. "It'll just be a while longer. Stay strong, I know she will, and she's waiting. Waiting... for us to save her. Okay?"

"Yeah..." She agreed as she kept her firm eyes on the floor. "Yeah, of course..."

...

...

"Well..."

"Well...?" She raised a brow as I bent on one knee.

"You gonna help me or what?" I questioned as I attempted to switch the topic.

The blonde brawler raised an eyebrow at my reluctance to even touch her luggage, let alone look at it, and when her eyes trailed to where my eyes were, only then did she understood why.

There was a multitude of bras and underwear of diverse colors and varieties, ranging from plain white to cream, dark with red accented patterns and even frilly pink ones with a small ribbon attached in the middle.

I may or may not have seen the few matching pairs I got her in that messy pile, while my mind automatically wandered off and conjured a mental image of it's own accord of how good Ruby might've looked like in-

_Nope._ I tried to shake off the thoughts as a certain part of me tensed up. _Not happening. Not now._

_Bad._

_Bad!_

_I did not ask for this body to come with it's hormones!_

Yang's sigh was the only thing that thankfully, snapped me out of my thoughts. Shaking her head once more as the edge of her lips tugged into a smile, she bent down and started to rid the layer of unused laundry.

"Thanks." I smiled. "Don't know what Ruby would think if she sees thi-"

"What did you do?!"

_Me and my big mouth._

"You don't need this much sis." Yang scolded nevertheless, ridding half the luggage and most of the set aside pile positioned beside it in a matter of seconds, while Ruby just squawked in place. "Besides, you could always get more when we arrive. Common resources won't be that scarce in Mistral."

She shook her head and slapped both cheeks with her hands to try and snap herself back into reality. Her eyes darted to me, then to her open suitcase, and her cheeks were set aflame in an instant.

"Gaaaaaah! Louis don't look!" Her hands flailed rapidly before her rose petal form slammed into my side and blasted me off my feet, trying to shove as much undergarments as possible into the baggage and slamming it shut.

"Urrrgh..." I groaned as I rubbed my sides. "I can exp-"

"A bit too late for that sis," Yang giggled, taking this chance to rub it in the face. "He already took in your scent for what it is. You might wanna check his pockets just in case."

"YANG!" I yelled at the brawler, who was now rolling on the floor and roaring with laughter while my cheeks darkened. "I didn't do any of those things!"

Ruby couldn't meet my eyes. "Pockets." She muttered as her cheeks burned brighter. "Now."

"Seriously?!"

"Now." She commanded as her eyes narrowed for what she no doubt thought, was a dangerous glare.

How her silver eyes glimmered and how her lower jaw jutted out into a rebellious pout in reality ended up looking cute.

Nevertheless, I turned the pockets of my dark trousers inside out, with the only things dropping out are the keys to the base, my scroll, and my wallet. "Satisfied?" I asked as I picked them up, while the elder of the two sisters somehow found the capability to laugh even harder.

Ruby huffed, glaring down at her sister as she somehow regained composure through it all.

"Come on sis," Yang chuckled as the laughter finally died down, prying the young reaper's hands off the case. "We're gonna be late."

"But..."

"No buts." Yang chided as she pulled her into a headlock and rub her knuckles all over her hair.

"Yaaaaaang!" She complained. "Not in front of Louis!"

"I thought he'd be used to it by now."

I just looked away.

"Let... me... go!" Ruby squeaked as she pushed down on her arms. Yang could've held on for longer, but knowing we're on a time limit and the fact that she had enough to savor that small victory, she did as asked.

The small reaper zipped back into the room to reorganize the mess her sister had thrown atop her bunk, all while I heard the blonde brawler dust her hands off behind me.

"Well," Yang chuckled as she somehow managed to arrange what remained of the pile that was littered outside and compacted it into her sister's suitcase without making it look like it was about to explode in the time I looked away. "I guess I'll see you at the airship."

I nodded back, partly in awe. "Don't blow it up like you did Junior's."

That earned me a fist to the shoulder. "Jerk." She smirked back without any heat to it.

"Sunny little dragon." I chuckled back from behind her.

Blake was next to exit not soon after. She passed by the doorway, towing her giant luggage behind her that had a height that extended slightly above her stomach.

"Need help with that?" I offered.

"Don't worry, I got it." Blake smiled as she tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear, to which I couldn't help but look away.

She was wearing a long, white tailcoat with gray linings that extended all the way to her feet over a short, a sleeveless black crop top that had diamond shaped cutouts around the neckline in a way that it revealed her defined collarbones. She wore dark trousers clung onto her skin, the skin tight material accentuating her curves more than the usual, with a white belt over her waist, along with a white pouch that held it altogether. However, it was majorly covered by the thigh-high black heeled boots she wore, each with her signature emblem on it's sides and gold-colored edging around the top. Letting go of the bow a long time ago, everybody had gotten used to having her cat ears out in the open, but it didn't make her any less appealing. Gambol Shroud hung loosely with a magnetic strap behind her, at the ready in case the Grimm were nearby.

"But... thanks for offering."

Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

The way her Amber eyes glinted, she definitely caught me looking.

"Uh, anyways, what in the world do you even pack in..." My eyes widened in realization, then immediately narrowed as it snapped to the faunus. "Blakey,"

"Hm?"

"You aren't planning to sleep in that... are you?"

"..."

She couldn't quite meet my eyes.

"For Brother's sake." I groaned into my palms. "Just how much space is actually occupied in there?"

"Less then half..." The cat faunus shuffled shyly, but her eyes looked up, silently pleading for me not to tell anyone.

"And just how much of half is necessary stuff?" I raised my brow.

"All of it..."

"Blake," I sighed. "Your books don't count."

"..." She tried to think of an excuse as she eyed the ceiling. "Then... half of that half."

"So only a quarter of it is actual change of clothes and underwear or ammo for Gambol Shroud." I shook my head in disappointment, causing her ears to flatten against her head.

"It's a good backup plan if we couldn't find a hotel..." She tried, but my gaze was unrelenting. "Or if we're limited to a few rooms or a few beds and I can perhaps..."

Eventually she clamped shut, realizing her reasoning didn't make sense. We had enough lien to last a few months at a bare minimum, not to mention have Pyrrha and Kevin with more then sufficient funds on our side.

...

"I guess old habits do die hard." I eventually broke the hardened expression into a grin as I walked past her. "Go, I'll meet you there."

"You don't think it's... weird or... immature?" She scratched the top of her palm as she twisted a foot in place and fidgeted, a habit she gets into if she gets nervous or embarrassed. Well that, and the fact that her cat ears had flattened against her head.

It made her look... vulnerable.

"Hey, you do you." I shrugged back. "Every weird habit or eccentricities you have is what makes you you, I'm not about to take that away."

I heard nothing as I turned my gaze on the doorway before I heard a light tapping of heels my way as something moist and warm brushed over cheeks, ending before it could even began. When I turned my head, it was to see the cat faunus speeding off with stiff shoulders, not even once glancing back.

Pretty sure I caught sight of her cheeks burning.

"Hm," I chuckled. "Was never good at expressing your feelings are you?"

When I turned back to the doorway, it was to find a certain red hooded leader pouting and crossing her arms.

Ruby's hair was still short, though in the month she was here, it had noticeably grown a little, though not to the point of her Volume 4 design.

Yet.

A bit of red highlights were washed out from the tips of her hair, making it mostly dark, though it didn't make her any less appealing. She dawns a pale high-neck decolletage blouse with brown studded wristbands on the arms, an overbust corset with red strip holding it in place. Her outfit retains the use of a black skirt with red frilly tulle underneath, which was no different from her original, and wrapped around her chest was an overbust corset with a red strip holding it in place.

She wore thigh high stockings a few inches away from the edge of her skirt, and red soled black boots which has 4 straps and buckles to it's sides. Her cloak was now wrapped around her neck, pinned together by the rose emblem of her insignia on her right shoulder.

"What?" I asked as the short girl gazed up defiantly into my eyes.

"Nothing!" She puffed up her cheeks and looked away.

"We're on the clock Rubes," I crossed my arms alongside her and stared her down with the best unamused expression I can muster at such a display. At that moment we might've looked like parent and child. "You good?"

"Who said I was jealous?"

"I never said you were..."

"W-well I never said I was!" She stuttered, cheeks aflame.

Even though that was obviously a blatant lie, I just rolled my eyes and held out my hand.

_Yeah... definitely not deciding between those two anytime soon._

The last thing I need is Ruby trying to thwart Blake's genuine attempts by sabotaging the chair she's about to sit on or poisoning her tuna.

"I was asking if you were good to go." I continued, despite the fact that the leader looked anything but composed. "The others are waiting."

"Y-yes!" She yelped. "Of course I'm good to go!" She said, holding out her bloated duffel bag. Then after a moment, she asked as she raised her brow in the most plastic of expressions I have ever seen to date. "Are _yooou_ ready to go?" She jabbed a finger to my chest.

Grabbing her duffel bag, I rolled my eyes and started to walk away.

My new dark vest hung open around my body, while a dark red, long sleeved, button up shirt with the sleeves itself being rolled up to my elbows, rest underneath. I popped two buttons loose, enough to reveal a little of my collarbone and half of the crucifix I wore around my neck. On my arms, black padded fingerless gloves stretched all the way to my wrists, while the circuitry patterns that ran from the along the pads glowed with crimson energy, with a red crescent shape jutting out on the back, on the opposite side of the palms. I replaced my navy blue jeans with white trousers that weren't too skin tight, strapped together with a black belt that supported a gold buckle, tucked into black combat boots that extended to the bottom of my calf. My hair was tied back into a warriors wolftail, the front of my hair slightly stiff as I tried to whip it into a sharp edge that partly covered my right eye.

Ruby soon jogged up to me, linking both hands behind her as she hummed a happy tune.

"You seem excited."

"Of course I am!" She smiled. "We're finally leaving Beacon, going on our own adventure as fully fledged huntsman and huntresses! It'll be just like the games I play or the books I read. What scary Grimm abominations await us? Will there be a castle full of evil sub bosses just waiting to be slain? Will they give rewards?! Will we be hailed as heroes" She gasped as she shook in place with barely concealed excitement, like a volcano ready to erupt. "How about a giant robot with force fields piloted by a midget capable of powerful and long ranged Dust attacks that's capable of leveling a city block?!"

_Erk..._

"You... uh okay?" She asked as she stopped a few steps in front of me and bent forwards with both hands still behind her back, tilting her head sideways, her face full of innocent concern.

"Yeah... I'm fine." I tried to put on my best smile on. "Just... don't jinx anything please."

"Oh come on, it'll be exciting!" She spun around and strolled in the corridors once more, the door only a hop, skip and a jump away.

"Not so much so if said midget is a pain in the ass..." I muttered.

"Psh, nah." Ruby waved off, dismissing the issue. "We always pull through if we're together. Besides, it's not like everything I say will come true."

"Cheeky and as optimistic as always." I grinned as I ruffled her hair with my free hand. "C'mon, the others are waiting."

She suddenly stopped in place.

"Ruby?" I asked.

"Others..." She breathed out while her shoulders shook.

_Hm...?_

_What's wrong with her._

"That's right." She said suddenly. "The sooner we get this over with," She stepped outside the door with her back turned to me. "The sooner we get to see Weiss again."

"Well," I smiled , wrapping the red bandanna to cover the lower part of my face as I swung open the door that was just on the verge of closing, letting the rays of the radiant sun wash over my face for what felt like ages. "You can bet you're not the only one who feels that way."

When I made to look, most of the boys were strapped to their seats bar Kevin, who was trying his best to keep Dwiki from staring at the girls too much in their new, more revealing outfits. Nora was telling Ren something while flailing her arms wildly in the air, while the eastern gunman looked like he was somehow listening and meditating at the same time.

He let his hair down to reveal messy jagged hair that would have most people in Anima swooning. Nora had a similar white shirt compared to the old one, though now the hole over her breasts in the shape of a heart has a line etched through it. Over the shirt, she wears a zippered navy blue bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem visible on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves.

Pyrrha was brandishing Milo in both hands as she visibly trembled, no doubt thinking of ever facing the demi Grimm again.

On her neck, hung a black choker with a gleaming red gemstone in the middle, and on her right shoulder rests a metalic gold pauldron, held by a leather strap that crossed across her breast and extended below her waist and looped over her back. Her sash turned cape was hanging over her exposed shoulder that extended all the way to the back of her knees. On her lap, rests a custom, Atlesian made bronze spartan helmet with the words 'SPQR' boldly etched on the back in courtesy of yours truly, while her leather heels had thin plated armour that were shaped like small, metallic wings on the sides of her ankles, noting the obvious weak point from her previous encounter with Cinder.

Jaune was checking out Crocea Mors to make sure it wasn't broken, unsheathing it and swinging it in the air while it's charred shield rests on the seat beside him. Obviously, he hadn't gotten an upgrade yet since Pyrrha hadn't died, bar his breastplate and armour pads, which was made thicker for heavier tanking.

_Really, the extended sword didn't do shit but add to the weight anyways._

_Why the fuck would he melt the remains of Pyrrha's armour to do that?_

Penny saluted me from the cockpit.

Blake's eyes went from 'I will see to it that Gambol Shroud pierces through you.' trying to cover her naval as Dwiki purposely kept ogling, craning his neck to avoid Kevin's big frame, to 'C'mere you' as amber eyes met mine.

Might've just been heat from the sun, but I was sure the air around me felt warmer.

Qrow took a swig of his canteen, muttering under his breath that he must be 'Too old for this shit' or something.

Ruby was already at the foot of the ramp, waving to me with one hand while cupping her mouth with the other.

With a sigh, I shook my head and started to walk towards the group.

_Are we ready to face an immortal goddess of Grimm that's hellbent on destroying humankind with an army at her disposal?_

_..._

_Probably not._

_But that's what we're summoned here to do._

_And do it,_

_We shall._

**A/N**

**This chapter was a bit of a challenge to write. **

**It took a bit back and forthing and I finally decided to put the beginning of the chapter, all the way to the end. I just feel like it flows better that way. A ton of rewrites later... Ta daaaa!**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Kage-kitsune9001: No, they walked into the room with Salem choking the life out of Evans. Evans, having nowhere to go, tried to grasp and scratch her hand off him, but it didn't work, so he tried to reach for her face, like in any action movies, but her hands were longer due to her being Grimm. So instead he groped her breast.**

**paradox0.5white: Yeah... didn't think that one through did you? xD I don't blame ya.**

**DankAnon: 4 more seasons huh? Preeeeetty sure Vol 7 isn't the end. Oh come on, Blake isn't just for lewding, but I was pretty sure I made a Cat Ruby very early in this fic. Honestly more of a fursuit. **

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Pretty sure you aren't the only one xD. Salem would've probably completely obliterated Evans, but she needed him. Sort of. Being a non native who has english as a second language, that means a lot to me, so thank you!**

**Sacke110: You did write a lot, but that's what I like. Really glad you like the fluffy and logical bits, those were... not to say difficult but challenging to write, since I never really experienced a relationship. The IKEA thing was out of the blue for me as well xD. That talk by Evans was just a way to stop Tyrian from bullying him around, he had no intention to make him his bitch but... let's just see how it plays out.**


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N**

**So, a lot of you must be asking why I went overkill on the costume description last chapter...**

**Well, apparently some reviewers didn't bother to watch RWBY right after V3 happened, or never watched RWBY at all. But they read RWBY fanfics cuz... ? Thus, I think it's fair game that I'd give them a detailed rundown of their costume changes, since most fics don't go beyond Vol 3's ending.**

**Though I did went a bit overboard on this one, I'll admit. I'll try not to get too in depth next time for the main chars.**

**Also, the only difference between Oscar and Ozpin's thought bubble is being one quotation apart and that seemed to get people confused since it was too subtle, so I'll start bolding the immortal spirit it from here on out.**

"So, anything we should know before we reach Haven?" Qrow asked. "Like say... _why_ we're in such a rush to get there?"

"Why don't you fill them in on what you know first?" I asked back, standing up when the huntsman visibly smirked. It immediately died an ugly death, seeing past my true intention of giving him a chance to entertain the group. "You know, the two gods, the Maidens, Ozpin's many lives, the Relics, Salem, everything you know basically."

"I'm surprised you haven't blurted everything out by now." He sniped instead. "Knowing about our entire lives and what's about to happen, why hadn't you yet?" Qrow flung an arm in the air as he finally gave in to his outburst. "You'd clearly do a better job then this old crow could."

My eyes met Yang's.

No words needed to be exchanged for her to recall what I said before our departure. My smirk said it all, but just in case it wasn't clear, and to rub it in the face, I mouthed.

'I. Told. You. So.'

She rolled her lilac eyes and poked out her tongue.

Ruby made to open her mouth, but I held out a hand behind me and subtly shook my head over my shoulder.

"Makes things much simpler if I just add on." I shrugged. "Put it all on the table and I'll be sure to do the same."

"Fine." Bright red eyes attempted to stare me down for a few moments, before he grumbled under his breath, and unscrewed the cap off of his canteen.

He started precisely like how he did in the show, from his knowledge of the two brother gods, of Light and Darkness, the creation of the first man capable of the 4 things the relics stand for, Creation, Destruction, Choice and Knowledge, and moved on to tell them that they're manifested in physical forms, The Relics, all the while the 7 ex students just listened in intently in their seats, nodding every once and a while as a show of understanding.

He then moved on to the reason why they were heading to Haven, that being Ozpin's reincarnation being en route, though he spared me a glance as if to have a reality check.

"The headmaster of Haven isn't dumb." Qrow said, taking a swig of strong liquor. "He'll have his guard up to protect the Relic of Knowledge at all costs, so what I don't get is why we're in such a hurry."

I didn't answer.

Yet.

"So, Salem is after the 4 relics made by the 2 gods." Ruby started when her uncle was seemingly done explaining. "Which are stored in vaults located in the schools, with the only way to unlock them being through the maidens." Qrow nodded. "That's why Ozpin wanted to imbue Pyrrha with the Fall Maiden's power? So that he could open some vault containing one of the 4 relics?"

"You don't get it squirt." Qrow took another swig of his alcohol before he continued speaking. "Salem is bigger than any of us. Not much is known about her but what we do know, is that she controls the Grimm. If she gets her hands on even one of the relics, it could be enough to turn the tide of war."

"Yeah, we noticed. Queen of Grimm, thank you very much. If the title doesn't give it away I don't know what does." The leader of team JNPR snarked.

"Jaune." The light armored champion nudged her boyfriend's side with the end of her elbow.

When Jaune made to look, it was to see everybody else staring back at him, though none of those were full of anger, which was surprising considering it was Yang and Ruby's uncle he just snapped at.

"Ugh... I'm sorry, it's just..."

"I get it kid, nothing personal." Qrow smiled bitterly as he screwed the cap to the canister back on. "I'd be mad too if he decides to choose one of my nieces for the next Fall Maiden." He said as he eyed the paneling of the glass cabinet containing Amber's body.

"But you'd have no choice but to comply if he insists." I cut in. "Isn't that right?"

Qrow's frown was nothing if not telling.

"It was my responsibility y'know." He chuckled in self loathing as his eyes locked to the unconscious maiden's scarred face. "I was supposed to be her escort as she roamed around. And I failed her..."

"Relax," I reassured. "She was made to die as a plot point. You needn't blame yourself for what happened."

"You managed to do better."

"Qrow." I snapped. "Nothing you would've done could've changed the events that transpired. You managed to stop Cinder in taking half her powers and scared off her little goons, that's better than what we could've done at the time. Amber was young," I followed his gaze as I looked a the copper skinned woman. "Inexperienced."

"You're one to talk," Qrow grumbled under his breath. "Oh Savior of Beacon."

"We had a full year to plan that. And even that went south." I countered what was I assumed was a half snark and half grateful compliment. "You had 5 minutes at best. Plus, I had my boys to support me in my decisions, you didn't. It was only with Evans's help that we managed to get Amber out in one piece. You chose to work alone."

"I'm assuming you already know why."

"Right." I sighed. "Your Semblance."

"Semblance?" Yang and Ruby just exchanged glances. The elder of the two shrugged, lifting up both hands as she shook her head.

"What's with Uncle Qrow's Semblance?" Ruby asked.

"It's bad luck." I explained when Qrow doesn't look like he's gonna explain. "And it's passive, that's why he's always the lone wolf, in fear of hurting the both of you."

Ruby unbuckled her safety belt and crawled up to her uncle's side.

"Uncle Qrow..." Ruby muttered as she planted her cheek on the side of his chest. "You know that wouldn't make us love you any less." It didn't matter that he reeked of alcohol, smoke, and sweat, she still managed to push through and buried her face in his side.

"I know squirt, but it is a dangerous thing to have." He chuckled bitterly, before ruffling her hair. "If anything happens to you... I can't..."

...

...

"Do you want me to disable it?" I offered.

"Huh?"

"My Semblance is to destroy or shatter Aura by touch." I explained. "Or transfer it somewhere, I don't know yet." I glanced at my hands as I clasped and unclenched my fingers. "That's how I was able to get an upper hand when we uh... sparred." I amended when everybody but Ruby shot me confused looks. "I can disable it... at the cost of your Aura being completely depleted. If you want to that is." I added when Ruby's pleading gaze met mine.

"I knew something was off," Qrow scoffed. "There was no way I could've lost to a student that easily."

"Two." I amended. "Evans was there."

"But no thanks kid," He ignored the correction for the sake of saving his pride, or what's left of it. "It's a temporary solution at best."

"It's still a solution." I pointed out as I extended my hand. "And better than nothing."

"Huh," Yang snickered when I stopped a few feet away from the huntsman. "Never knew you were into my uncle too."

"God... damnit Yang." I groaned into my palms. "Why did you have to ruin the moment like that?"

"I live to please." She snorted when most of the people in the airship started chortling, with some even bursting to laughter altogether.

"Wait," Qrow's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Firecracker, what do you mean by 'too'?"

Ruby's laughter died in her throat as she elicited a small whimper.

"You don't really wanna know." I held out my hand once more as I turned my gaze towards the messy man.

He eyed it warily, switching his gaze between my open palm and my eyes.

Qrow shook visibly when he felt something move by his side, and when he made to look, Ruby was pouting up at him, puppy eyes pleading for him to take the offer. "Don't leave us... pweeease?"

"Does she do this often?" I deadpanned and focused on Qrow instead.

"More than I would like." He deadpanned back. "Stupid guilt trips, argh... fine!" He slapped his palm onto mine.

The moment our hands connected, his palm flashed crimson, then flickered black.

He almost stumbled to the floor, grasping at his chest and heaving for breath.

"Uncle Qrow!"

"You okay?" I crouched down as I gently rubbed his back, hefting him up by my shoulder.

"Yeah..." He gasped for air. "Just not used to... having all my aura sponged out of me like that... Holy shit kid," He rasped as he glance sideways, eyes locked into mine. "That's dangerous."

"You're telling me." I chuckled as I helped him back up to his seat.

"Welp, that solves one problem." Kevin crossed his arms as he leant back in his seat. "Wanna address the other?"

_Huh, Dwiki was surprisingly quiet this time arou-_

I saw that Adrian had the pudgy boy in a headlock.

His head was turning blue from the lack of air.

_Nevermind..._

"Right," I sighed. "Now that Qrow spilled his beans, I guess it's time to tell the real truth."

"Wait," Yang held out her right arm. "Wasn't what Qrow said 'The Truth'?" Their gazes snapped to Qrow, who just raised a brow at me as if to ask 'What more do you want?'.

"That's the thing, isn't it Yang?" I asked, drawing their attention once more. "It's the truth..." I tried to explain as my tongue rolled around the inner walls of my cheeks. "The truth Qrow believes in."

"The truth Qrow believes in...?" If anything, it only seemed to get the group more confused then ever.

"The thing about truth is, it differs for everybody that's involved." I explained. "Imagine a man catching a fish, and a child as a bystander says that he had just witnessed murder. A businessman sees a future partnership for trade, while his wife sees him as a good man feeding his family. All of this, is true."

"So what's gonna make your version of the 'Truth'," Qrow quote the air. "Any less different?"

"Easy," I shrugged off easily. "I'm going to tell it from a narrative standpoint, which means that I've watched it all unfold before my very eyes to determine that this version is more acceptable. Even though our knowledge of the future no longer coincides with the path we're taking, backstories are of the past, and those are set in stone."

"What do u mean?" Blake's asked while a feline ear flicked back and forth.

"It means... I'm not even gonna try to sugarcoat this." I grumbled under my breath and braced myself for what's to come. "Cuz if I do I'll end up sounding like an ass."

"And your version is the one we should go with because...?" Qrow raised a brow.

"Because it came from the Relic of Knowledge."

His mouth clamped shut.

The group just exchanged uneasy glances, all while the boys just glanced to me in hopes that I'd knew what I was doing.

"But... Oz said the questions were all used up." Qrow managed once he recovered from the shock.

I shook my head. "Not quite..."

We're still far away from the Apathy arc, so it should be safe to expose the truth here.

I then explained to them the real, unedited version of what happened.

The old Remnant, the hero formerly known as Ozma, now known to them by the name Ozpin, his death due to sickness and reincarnation by the God of Darkness, their offsprings who are theoretically speaking, the original Maidens, and finally, the fact that Salem can't be killed.

Qrow's jaw dropped to the floor.

The others blinked owlishly as they tried to digest what I said.

"I must've..." He stared as his canister long and good. "Drank too much..." He chuckled bitterly as he screwed the cap back on. "Yeah, that must be it. I've had too much today."

"I thought you didn't trust me and my silly story of being from Earth." I snorted as the others started muttering to themselves. "What changed your mind?"

"I still don't," He admitted. "But so far you've been nothing but right, or so I was told." He made eye contact with Ruby. "So right every single time that it's scary. And I'm not about to call my niece a liar. Are you sure that's what the Relic of Knowledge said?"

"Positive." I said, gesturing to Derrick, who gave a small nod of acknowledgment back.

"Look," I sighed. "Ozpin chose not to tell any of you so that you won't give up hope like he once did. Salem must be stopped, that's non negotiable, but the 'how'." I quoted the air. "Is still up in the air right now."

"Also," Kevin cut in, drawing everybody's attention to him. "This way, we just saved a question that you could have used for something else."

"Just great." Yang cursed under her breath. "That bastard had been keeping the Relics in the schools, thinking they were secure by using Huntsmen-in-training as bodyguards, but that only added bodies to the pile."

"Speaking of schools..." I winced as I eyed the deflated Qrow with his gaze locked onto the floor, looking like he couldn't take any more bad news by this point. "Uhh..."

"What?" He snapped as he glared my way.

"Leo Lionheart is..." I shrugged sheepishly as I ran a hand through my hair. "Sorta..."

"Compromised." Kevin finished.

Qrow's head slammed into the ship's steel frame.

_Oscar's POV_

"Are you sure this is the place?"

_"**Positive.**"_ The voice within his head replied. _"**Leo should be more than willing to provide us with aid and accommodation until Qrow arrives.**"_

"Uhh... okay," Oscar nodded as he entered a courtyard and glanced upwards to the massive oriental building that towered before him. All 4 sides of it's walls were painted pastel yellow while it's windows were circular by nature. It's rooftops were tesselated with dark red tilings that seemed to spread in a large span sideways, going as high to the point that the highest point was not visible to those looking up from the ground.

"Should I knock?" Oscar asked as his eyes rolled up, as if to find the face of the person inside his head there somewhere.

_"**Class is still in session, so I would presume so.**"_

Right as his clasped hand halted a few inches away from the tall doors, the air was blasted out of his lungs as he was swept off his feet, landing on his rear.

"... Yeah, so I was like, you cool? And he was like, yeah I'm co... Huh?"

"Uhh..." Oscar looked up at the tanned teen with wild, messy blond hair and...

_Why is he shirtless?_

Well he was technically wearing a shirt, but it didn't serve the purpose of covering up his muscular and toned body. Instead, it hung open and unbuttoned all the way to give everybody a show of what lays within.

"Uh, you okay there kid?" The blonde one offered a hand that had a red gauntlet attached to it. "Usually I would love to stick around and show you around, but I got class after this so-"

_"**Allow me.**"_

_'What do you me-'_

His lime green eyes glowed, before taking said hand as the little boy was pulled to his feet. "Thank you, Mr Wukong."

He froze almost instantly.

"How... did you know my name?" Sun asked as he cocked a brow. "Have we met?"

_'Is that a tail?!'_

"You do." Oscar smiled enigmatically. "Or more specifically, you did."

"Did?" Sun Wukong raised a brow.

"Hey dudes!" A blue haired boy with a red jacket called out with one hand cupped around his mouth as he jogged to both towering teens before him. "Sup Sage. Lookin good Sun. Who's the kid?"

Only then did Oscar saw the man Sun was talking to beforehand as he exited the tall doors. Before he interrupted that was. Towering before him, he has green spiky hair and dark skin, he was wearing a long white coat that extended all the way to his feet.

Though just like the man he now knows as a 'Sun Wukong', it didn't serve it's purpose, since all his buttons were popped off as his pectorals hung open in the air.

"Mr Vasilias," His eyes went to the blue haired boy who just arrived. "I can assure you that I'm not 'Just a kid'."

"You know this guy?" Neptune asked Sun, who shook his head wildly.

"I don't think I've seen him before..." Sun muttered as he ran his forefinger across his chin, sapphire eyes rolling upwards as he attempted to recall the non existent memory.

"I wish to speak with your headmaster, Leonardo Lionheart." The boy before them, wearing nothing but tatters, asked. "Is he in?"

Sun glanced over to the blue haired boy, who shrugged.

"I don't think you're old enough to enroll just yet."

"Nep!"

"Hey, I thought I told you not to call me that in public!" Neptune complained.

"Be nice to him." Sun said as he held out both hands, gesturing to the farmboy behind him. "He's just a kid! No point to be killing the dreams of aspiring Huntsmen. You were young once too!"

"I'm just saying he shouldn't even try at this age without proper training, what if something like the Vytal Tournament happens again?" Neptune muttered under his breath, and winced when Sun jabbed a fist into his side.

_'Are they always like this?'_

"_**I remember them being closer and less cautious. Not reckless mind you.**_" Ozpin added when Oscar was about to ask if that was how all Huntsmen were. "_**They seem... more paranoid then an average teenager should.**_"

When Ozpin made to look through Oscar's eyes, it was to see Neptune extending a hand in apology.

"Look, I'm uh... sorry, but... you're gonna have to work really hard if you want to get in. The last thing we need is for history to repeat itself."

"No offense taken, Mr Vasilas, and no apologies are required." Oscar waved off when Sun looked like he wanted nothing more then to strangle his friend.

Sun and Neptune just looked at each other, the latter shrugging with both hands open.

"Yeah... ok, anyway... The headmaster is sort of busy." It was Sun who answered as he quickly composed himself. "Been like that ever since Beacon sorta fell."

"Sort of fell...?" Oscar raised a brow.

"Haven't you heard?" Neptune asked as he held out his hands to cover his face and all 10 fingers started to fluctuate in height as he curled and uncurled them. "There's a new type of Grimm-Human hybrid on the food chain." Neptune pulled what he hoped what was a scary face enshrouded in shadows. In broad daylight, it managed to make him look like he ate laxatives for breakfast. "Some people are saying that it and the Dragon Grimm worked together to destroy Beacon, others think that it saved Beacon, but that's unlikely."

When Ozpin made to ask again, Neptune shoved his scroll in his face as the footage displayed of a glowing crimson eye enshrouded in ashes and blood.

"How many times do I have to tell you Nep, that thing cleared Beacon of all the Grimm!"

"I am certain you can confirm that it was not Grimm." Oscar's head tilted up to meet dark blue eyes and raised a brow. "You were one of many there fighting alongside other students, Mr Wukong."

"That's what I've been telling him!" Sun agreed as he crossed his arms in frustration, staring Neptune down with a self satisfied smirk. "See? Even the kid knows that it was a human in a suit of armo- Wait..."

They both turned to Oscar as they realized something. "How..." Sun stared at the boy up and down. "Did you know I fought for the Battle of Beacon?"

That was a good question.

How indeed.

_Weiss's POV_

"This life... is miiiiiiiine~"

Her voice carried throughout the auditorium, and as if mocking her, reflecting it back at her to hear with twice the volume.

Slightly low in pitch.

Imperfection.

...

It had to be... perfect.

A bright light shone in her face, while the rows and rows of seats surrounding her in a wide arc were currently unoccupied, not that it mattered.

She never cared to see the people that saw her as nothing but a gateway to her family's fame and fortune.

Even as a mere child, her father was already deciding her future for her. Business partners with young male children will bring their kids as courters to secure their future, not that she'd ever taken any interest in them.

Now that the heiress of the SDC came back after an amazing feat of defending Beacon, a tale of which her father would no doubt overexaggerate, and the fact that she's about to perform for the first time in what must be a year now, something tells her she was about to be swarmed with them.

Her hands went from overlapping one another in front of her chest, to falling slack on her sides.

It was nothing new, so why did she feel so... so frustrated?

"I should be used to it by now." She told herself.

This just felt... wrong.

Time felt like it had stopped for her ever since she'd been taken away from her team.

She wanted to go back...

But she can't.

If she wanted to change the way the SDC run things, she'd have to be put as CEO of the SDC.

Her father has her on the ropes, and she knew this.

_If I slip up now... If Whitely gets the title... then the chance to change the way the SDC runs things will be ruined and gone... forever._

Her entire life was chained, shackled to stare into a mirror from birth.

The trip to Beacon had been nothing but a lucky break from her father, a farce, an illusion that she'd broke free of her father's grasp through teenage rebellion, just like how Winter did all those years ago.

Her gaze turned towards the window that showcased the shattered moon.

She straightened her pose, and her lips parted to let out a long sigh, before she went back to practicing once more.

As she sang in solitude, she had to wonder...

How were her friends doing?

_Louis's POV_

I swung Requiem to force the Nevermore back, who was currently trying to weigh our ship down by putting it's full weight atop the Bullhead while it's talons scraped and pierced at the roof.

It wasn't as big as the one in the initiation or the Fall, and by the size it seems to be very early in it's stages of it's life.

Which meant it was more determined, motivated, and reckless.

In other words...

Dangerous.

It squawked in retaliation and slammed it's side to the hull of the aircraft.

"And just how did it turn out this way?!" I yelled aloud.

_Should have probably expected it, since y'know, the whole plane is basically riddled with negativity since you told them about the truth? _My treacherous mind spoke out.

"Great." I groaned. "Even my own brain is against me."

"Louis. Concentrate, please?" Blake pleaded in panic as she shot Gambol Shroud in it's pistol form to draw back a flock of 3 or so Griffons nosediving from above.

"Easier said than... done Kitty kat!" I grunted to get out as I slammed the axe shaped pommel into the Nevermore's skull when it drew near.

A sickening crack resounded throughout the cabin, causing it to shriek in pain and cease in it's relentless assaults immediately as it flapped it's wings wildly in the air, the sudden gust of wind brewed up causing our ride to swerve wildly.

Ruby stumbled into my side with her back facing me, only managing to look into my eyes before I dragged her hood down and kept her head glued to the floor.

She rubbed her head where my palm had pressed down, and opened her mouth to complain.

"What was that fo-"

Dark feathery wings and razor sharp talons missed her head by a palm's length as it swooped in for the kill. The velocity it was going at was the only thing that caused it to miss and hurtle out the other side.

"Uh... Hehe... Nevermind...?" She muttered as she gave me a sheepish grin, before standing back up, brandishing Cresent Rose as her legs bent slightly before she put on a serious expression once more.

Kevin and Adrian both wielded an Obsidian Nova each, swinging them wildly, but were unable to hold on for long without getting overwhelmed and letting us take over. Regardless, both of them did manage to tag team a Griffon without any Huntsmen training, so maybe I should give them some credit for that.

That put canon Torchwick to shame, even with the consideration of the fact that he was too distracted to even notice it coming close.

Then again, canon Torchwick didn't weigh 250 pounds and was definitely wasn't willing to be an anchor.

Qrow had a few scratches across his forearm and a long laceration across his thigh, with the most noticeable damage being the huge gash across his forehead when he decided to slam it into the ship's interior.

No Aura equals No Semblance.

In other words...

This was all on me.

The drunk man fought like a madman as he took out his frustration on the unfortunate Griffons that came close, screaming like a banshee each time he ended one of the beaked creatures as it's slit throat sprayed ichor like a red flowing fountain.

His dark trousers were drenched with blood, though whether it was his own or not remains unclear.

Dwiki... was dodging Grimm left and right like a headless chicken. Or to be more specific, trying to keep them from reaching his scroll, going so far as to shield the device with his body, he seemed to consider it more important than his life.

"We are losing altitude," Penny said nonchalantly as the whole Bullhead blared with alarms, causing the whole cabin lit with a crimson hue. "Rapidly." She added after a dramatic pause.

"No shit!" Kevin yelled over the blaring sirens. "What do we do?!"

Peering through the hole where the young Nevermore had implanted it's beak in an attempt to impale us, I saw the unmistakable shape of a dark cloud rapidly closing in the distance. Obviously, upon closer inspection, it was anything but a normal thundercloud, especially with the white skeletal structures of solidified manes hung loose upon a lionized body and a scorpion's stinger attached to the tip of it's tail.

"Of course there'll be Manticores to add to the pile!" Derrick screamed as he flung his hands up in the air.

_Shit._

_Not giving us much of a choice here..._

"Louis," Yang landed next to me after firing explosive Dust to keep the Nevermore away. "What do we do?"

Good question.

One I did not have the answer to.

"Guys!" A muffled feminine voice called out in panic. "You have to hurry, Cinder and her crew are going to Ha... WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING HERE?!"

"Took you long enough!" Kevin rushed to unlatch the glass coffin, and struggled to free the straps that was securing the maiden in place.

A thunderous squawk had it's heralded effect, and the rotund man ducked right on time as a stream of continuous pouring fire blew a hole in the oncoming Nevermore's skull, turning it into ashes.

"Thanks..." Kevin gulped while his face paled as Amber burned off the remaining binds, and both made their way cautiously to our sides.

"What do we do?!" Adrian asked from beside me.

"Jump!" I yelled.

"Jump?!" Kevin asked as he threw his arms up in the air. "Are you insane?!"

His eyes widened into dinner plates when he realized every Huntsman or Huntress in training already left the plane, with the boys and Amber being the last to exit.

I heard glass shatter.

A quick glance to the cockpit showed nobody in the pilot's seat.

I felt my boots reached the ledge of the doorway.

"Then you'd best come up with a landing strategy." I winked as I gave a 2 finger salute, and felt the rush of air from the difference of air pressure outside on the rapidly descending plane. "And fast."

I leaned backwards and dove into freefall.

I felt something on my feet, and gravity multiplying tenfold.

_Weiss's POV_

"Meh," The white haired girl shrugged, the echo of her heels clicking against the marble stage audible from one end of the room to the other as she stepped off, wrapping up on her practice session by taking a flute atop a table and drinking the fresh water within. "Whatever they're doing, they're probably better off then I am."

_Louis's POV_

"Urgh..." I grasped my head as pain permeated every part of my body. I glanced up and saw splintered branches from tall trees, the destruction no doubt caused by my landing. "Damn... that'd hurt."

_I recall actually having a landing strat. What the hell happened?_

"You're telling me."

...

_Son of a bitch..._

_Now I remember._

"Get off me you dick." I struggled to get past as the air was slowly forced out of my lungs. "I didn't sign up to be your couch."

"Hey you did say to come up with a landing strategy." Kevin shrugged as he stood up, extending an arm.

"Evans did it first and Evans did it better." I scoffed as I took his arm. "What kind of landing strategy did you think you had when you grabbed onto my legs mid air?!"

"One where I don't die." He scoffed back while he patted me off any mud, wiping it on his shorts. "You have Aura to break your fall. I don't."

_And just like that, I was pretty sure I don't anymore._

"Don't be a crybaby." I rolled my eyes as I cracked my joints. "Evans was gonna catch you mid air."

"Yeah, I'd believe that if only she doesn't only have two hands." He clenched and unclenched his fingers for emphasis. "2 hands, 4 guys, and I weigh 250. How do you think that's gonna play ou-"

A bestial roar cut our conversations short, causing my shoulders to stiffen with Requiem at the ready.

"What... was that...?" Kevin had his back to mine, voice lowering down to nothing but a mere whisper in fear of drawing the attention of the unwanted visitor. I silently gestured in a direction, and we hauled ass like there was no tomorrow, passing by dozens of trees and praying that heading in a certain direction would at least lead somewhere.

Anywhere but here.

Our feets sploshed against thick brown mud, but we pushed on as the ground started to rumble.

_A Beowolf...?_ I questioned as we eventually broke into a large clearing._ No... this was deeper, louder, and more menacing._

"We'd better find the others." I pointed out as I sought for any signs of life in the dense jungle. "Before... whatever that was, get to them."

"No... need." Kevin held out his hand as he panted for breath.

"What do you mea-"

He pointed in a direction.

"Louis!" Blake broke through the treeline as she landed in a crouch, rushing up to my side as wild yellow eyes looked at me up and down. "You okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Blakey." I replied, eyes roving up to her cat ears while I tugged a loose twig and a few dried leaves out of her raven locks. "You should be more worried about yourself. You're a mess. The others?"

"They should be somewhere nearb-"

"Lou!"

And just like that, Derrick came running with his purple hood flapping in the wind into the clearing, stumbling every once or so on some tall rocks that jutted out of the ground accompanied by the unevenness in the ground.

"Where's Amber?" I raised my brow, but Derrick held out his hand as a buffer while he caught his breath.

"She helped me... and Adrian, but we chose to split up... to find the others faster." He wheezed, taking deep gulps of air in between. "We-"

"What if the Grimm find you first?" I asked with a raised brow. Derrick paused and gaped. "Didn't think this one through did you?"

"Seems to be a recurring thing for you 'Earth' people." Blake chided, causing me to look anywhere but her hardened yellow eyes.

"Yeah well..." He scratched the back of his shoulder length hair and took off his beanie. "That won't matter for long if we don't get out of here! There's a-"

_THUD_

"Too late..." He gulped.

The crunching of trees getting uprooted from their place was growing louder now, and when we made to look, it was to see the silhouettes of sturdy trunks in a good distance getting bent to the point of snapping and falling like a stack of dominoes. Whatever it was, it was big enough to carve out a path that was headed straight for us, and the same, bloodcurdling roar we heard from earlier boomed in our ears, causing chills to travel down my spine and Blake to clench her more sensitive pair atop her head.

A dark shadow of muscular, hairy legs and thick, leathery skin was the first to appear as the gargantuan finally pushed through the last treeline that impeded its path.

"Great..." I groaned. "You didn't think you wanted to start with that first?"

"I was about to! But you asked about the others and-"

Everything else was tuned out as I watched the creature before me.

The Beringel strode towards us, bigger than the show ever shown before, towering over us like ants. It's red eyes were glaring at us warily through its thick bone mask as it's snorts came out between a large set of jaws in large puffs of fine mist.

It's massive maw clacked together as it dreamt of swallowing its prey in one bite.

In fact, unless we do something, that was about to become a reality.

Blake took a step back as Gambol Shroud mecha-shifted into it's pistol form, not that it would do much against the thick, bone plated armour that covered it's pectorals or the amount of flesh it had hidden beneath it's already thick skin.

Gambol Shroud would snap like a twig if she even attempted to fight it.

Kevin deployed Obsidian Nova, but I held out my hand.

_Sure, it had a good cutting edge, but it couldn't pierce through if the one swinging doesn't put any power behind it. Which meant we'd have to get up close and personal, which was a big fat no._

_It's gonna take out all our Aura in one hit, and that's if we're lucky... _

_Those beefy hands look like they could bitch slap us to the shattered moon if they want to._

Which means...

_Well, I guess it's now or never._

"Blake." I called out.

"Yeah?" She responded as yellow eyes flicked to me for a brief moment.

Her shoulders were tense, gripping Gambol Shroud's hilt hard enough to run her knuckles white while the lumbering mammalian considered who to go for first.

"Glad to see you're still with us." I smirked in a way of what I hoped was reassuring, before my face turned dead serious. "Think you can distract em?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" She snorted and rolled her eyes, but she smiled cunningly.

"If it gets too close use your Semblance to escape. If you could score a slash or two, that'll be great, but don't overcommit. I'll handle the rest."

"Wait, what are _you_ gonna do?" Her eyes narrowed as her focus fully shifted to me. Her lips peeled back into an uncharacteristic sneer. "It'd better not be anything endangering again."

"We don't do anything and we're all gonna be endangered."

Blake's face turned sour, then nodded and scuttled off to the side with her athletic agility, covering a good amount of distance in a span of a few seconds before her combat heels dug into the ground and screeching to a halt.

She had one arm extended with Gambol Shroud at the end, firing a few shots that pinged off the bone armour of it's chest.

It reacted immediately, roaring and pouncing high in the air and blocking out the sun before landing with both hands to pound the ground into a human-sized crater. The reverberating tremors were felt where we stood, with it's epicenter being only about half a football field away.

"Anybody knows how to play flamenco music?" Kevin joked.

"Flamenco?" Derrick asked. "Why would-"

A deep clank resounded from Requiem as the top half of the blade shifted upwards while the larger and longer bottom part moved downwards, splitting it apart to allow an equal distance in the middle. A low hum followed by a fizzle revealed that crimson colored hard-light Dust was being conjured on the spot. The space was about a finger in height, but quite flat in length, running down the entire span of the blade from the pommel, and the tip itself being the only sharpened point, resembling a katana's blade lodged within the greatsword.

"Okay, so Lou has a sword that gets thicc and glows in the middle." Derrick deadpanned. "So what?"

"Just watch." Kevin crossed his arms.

I crouched...

And like a coiled spring, I launched high up in the air.

The Beringel was looking around for the remains of it's prey, bamboozled at the fading shadow that was Blake's decoy.

I holstered Requiem on my back diagonally, in a way that the hard-light Dust was exposed and within hand's reach as my body reached the pinnacle of my stunt, and started to arc downwards.

"First I whip it out!" The blade extended outwards and the hard-light Dust broke off like tinted glass, while I grabbed it with my padded gloves before sinking it into the Beringel's tendons with a violent hiss.

It howled in pain.

"Then I thrust it!" Another hard-light blade protruded from the tip of my sword before I broke it off again, seemingly conjuring in infinite amounts before I drove it into the mammalian Grimm's calf.

It roared angrily as it swiped at me, but I just leapt up in the air again.

"With! Great! Force!" Each word was accompanied by the hurtling of hard-light Dust while I was suspended in mid air, not that it had the same effect when I was up close as the Beringel swatted those projectiles away with ease.

Right as it was about to leap high up in the air, something struck it's leg. When my eyes honed in at the lower portions of its body, a black hilt with a crimson blade was lodged in it's foot, pinning it in place.

So distracted in pain it was, it didn't realize the weight that had landed on the bone armour located on its back.

With a battle cry, I nailed a solid pillar of Dust into its spine with just enough force to keep it in place.

"Every angle," It finally decided that enough was enough, and tried to swat the nuisance off it's back, only for me to hop off and instead ram the sharp Dust deeper into it's body and went out the other side.

It cried in confusion.

"It penetrates!" I grinned as I landed.

"Until...!" I held out a translucent crimson blade in each hand, doing a backflip and while suspended in mid air, like a dealer fanning out his cards, revealed even more of its duplicates lying underneath as it spread out with 3 in each hand, one in the space between each fingers that resembled claws, multiplying the blades into a total of 6.

"With! Great! Strength!" Again, each word was grunted as I spun my body around for added momentum, the crimson blades rained down on the Beringel to scrape a lower part of its body as it shielded its upper half with its large arms, the large beast finally tiring out from blood loss and being too exhausted to fight back.

_This might be the only chance I'm gonna get, I'm not sure if it'll recover and do a second wind!_

With both arms, I broke off the Dust from the tip of my greatsword as I landed on its shoulders, holding it high up in the air.

"I... Ram it in!" It struck through the eyehole in the bone mask, causing a fountain of blood to gush out and to spurt out continuously out of it's eye socket.

It roared as it tried to get rid of the hindrance that took out half its vision, once again only managing to push the solid Dust deeper into its skull as I leapt out of range.

"In the end..." I whispered as I landed lightly on both feet, before I clapped my hands. The crucifix around my neck and the cresent rings around my gloves glowed.

The hard light Dust all over its body glowed red hot and emitted a shrill screech before they each exploded around it's body in a small radius.

The Beringel went still, riddled with fist sized holes.

"We are all satisfied..." I snapped my fingers at the final crimson pillar sticking out of its spine.

Once more, the crucifix and gloves glowed.

It went boom, leaving a large, bloodied hole in its chest, as if someone had just drilled into it.

"And you are set free..."

The body of the Beringel tilted forwards, and fell with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the forest.

...

Derrick's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Told ya to wait and see." Kevin smirked and looked past me to make sure the Beringel's husk was evaporating. When it started to, he let out a relieved sigh before clapping. "Bravo. Quite the show you put on. It even got your resident pussy starstruck." The rotund man jabbed a finger behind him.

"Kev!"

Blake stopped fighting a long time ago and was staring at the execution in awe the whole time. For some reason, her amber eyes were slightly misty as her thighs rubbed against each other.

Right as I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, her legs bent inwards as she fell on her knees.

"H-hey..." I said as I walked up to her.

She wrapped her tailcoat to cover the front of her waist.

For some reason, her cheeks were flushed red.

"You uh... okay?" I asked as I extended a hand.

"I'm fine!" She snapped quickly. "J-just go... I'll... I'll catch up."

"You sure? It isn't safe here." I pointed out. "Nothing's to say that was the only Beringel around and I just ran out of StarDust." I said as the cresent rings around my gloves died. "Who knows what else might be lurking."

"I think I'm pregnant." A familiar voice cut through my thoughts as the familiar blonde haired brawler stepped into the clearing with her sister in tow.

_Blake's POV_

She definitely doesn't need to get up.

She was fine sitting on the grass on her own.

Purrfectly fine.

...

...

Damnit Yang...

She won't get up.

Not now.

Not unless she wanted to reveal that the patch of grass below her was soaking wet.

_It's a good thing I brought extras... _She thought as Ruby was as glad as she was that he wasn't hurt and barreled into him, with Louis in return twisting and spinning her around to bleed off the momentum.

She felt her pulse race as what he said echoed inside her mind.

She felt her heart start to hammer against her chest.

She felt her breaths came out hitched.

As her legs rubbed against each other, she couldn't help but think that she'll have trouble sleeping tonight.

No,

She knows that she'll have trouble sleeping tonight.

That's a given.

**A/N**

**Oopsie. What did I just do?**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white: Definitely an interesting concept which I would put into consideration. The drawback might even work in our favour this once if it's Dwiki getting it.**

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Hope that A/N up there explains stuff. Did I say anything about the Vytal Tournament? Hmm, I forgot. About being Couer, I am still a far cry's away from ever being him. He is, and always will be, FF's number 1 writer, nothing will change that. I can only hope that people enjoy my fics the same way they enjoy his. **

**DankAnon: Thank you! Hope that the slow burn angst from our Kitty Kat wasn't too slow. Idk why I'm being painted the target to lose my virginity here, but eh... ok! Keep on hoping! Evans does not approve of him and Salem, not at all. Nope, just an underrated Semblance of voiding Aura.**

**sacke110: I thought you were rooting for Arkos xD. Guess i can kill her now. Yeah it's cool, that's most people's reactions. But you'd better not skip out of the outfit desc's, those were made specifically for you xD. Don't we all want to see Jaques dead or Raven being given a talk by her family? I will tell you that they feel VERY safe in their comfort zones right now due to me babysitting them, so that's natural I guess.**


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N**

**So, first of all, we just hit 200 across the board! Favs, follows, and Reviews! Also, almost 80K friggin views! So I would like to thank you all for your overwhelming support, wouldn't have been able to do this without you.**

**Uh, I'll leave the super lengthy announcement at the bottom I guess. Won't affect the story length, so if it's short, it's short because it just is... if that makes any sense. Just another heads up I guess.**

_Blake's back pressed against the hard, rigorous contours of what felt like the trunk of a large tree bark._

_She was surrounded in nothing but darkness, her yellow orbs flicking left and right to analyze her surroundings as her hands instinctively reached behind her to grab the hilt of her sword._

_Faunuses were supposed to be able to see in the dark, which made it much more alarming since there was nobody in sight, yet..._

_There was a presence nearby._

_She could sense it._

_"Blake..."_

_Her hands grasped Gambol Shroud and drew it out with a loud rasp, wielding it in front of her body as her head twisted from side to side to detect the source of the voice. Her teeth ground against each other, threatening to shatter as beads of cold sweat cascaded down the side of her face._

_It was nothing but a sheer and distant whisper, but she could feel it rapidly closing the distance. Without a doubt she slashed Gambol Shroud diagonally across her body._

_It struck nothing but thin air._

_As if summoned by her thoughts, i__n an instant, something grasped her wrist and slammed it against the wall behind her. Gambol Shroud fell to the ground with a loud clatter._

_"W...who?"_

_She felt hot breath wash over the top pair of her ears, causing it to flick._

_"Blake..."_

_Slowly, the presence directly in front of her materialized as a tall man with sharp and choppy hair._

_Even through the darkness, she could make out his defined pectoral and collarbone jutting as his clothes hung loosely over his defined form._

_There was no denying his identity, not with that all too familiar voice._

_"L...Louis?" She took in a sharp, deep breath as she felt the callouses of his fingers brush against her inner thigh._

_"Glad you recognized me... Blakey..." With a reassuring voice like that, she relented. "After this, I don't think you're gonna ever forget..."_

_"Huh...?" Her vision blurred as she felt him grab her other wrist and seized it above her head, along with the first._

_A sudden yelp escaped her lips as she felt a finger digging into the tight trousers she wore and stretching it out, before the rubbery material slapped against her skin, marking a red line in her smooth, creamy waist._

_"W-what are you doing...?" She asked, her voice strained as his face drew closer._

_That was a dumb question to ask, she knew._

_It was clear to anybody with a brain and a pair of eyes as to what he was doing._

_She just wanted him to say it out loud._

_"I think you would've known by now, judging by the books you read..."_

_His face went past hers while his dry lips latched onto her smooth neck, making her body quiver as he started to suck on it._

_"W-w... ah..."_

_Instinctively, one of her legs rose up to caress over his own as she found herself linking her hands to the back of his head, letting his wolftail loose._

_"Nobody's here Blake..." He confirmed as she felt her soaked trousers being drawn down slowly. "We're alone..." She felt his head slowly rose above hers, forcing her to look at his defined packs._

_Blake's eyes widened as her mouth elicited another honest, pained moan as she felt him claiming her faunus traits._

_She never realized how sensitive her other pair of earlobes were._

_He nipped and nibbled down, forcing it to stay in place even as it tried to flick away while his face roved over nearby to whisper into them. "We can do... whatever... we... " His teeth sank into her skin. __"Want..."_

_"Mm... Hngh..."_

_She was far too gone to answer. She was panting into his chest now, inhaling the intoxicating musk that was enshrouding their bodies._

_"Can I...?" He asked insistently as he tugged at her undergarments._

_After a moment of regaining her breath, she finally regained some semblance of mind to respond, and even then, her eyes were lidded as the air that exited her lungs came out in short, lusty breaths._

_"What are you gonna do to me...?" She asked._

_Again, the same, dumb question. Again, she just wanted to hear him say it._

_"It's quite obvious..." He chuckled teasingly. "Isn't it? If you don't want to, all you need to do is tell me to stop..."_

_She bit down on her bottom lip, but made no refusal._

_'Do it...' Her mind pleaded. 'Please...'_

_She must've thought out loud, if his sly grin was any indication._

_"First... I whip it out..." Even in the darkness and their bodies pressed against each other, obscuring her vision, she could feel it's length as it exited his briefs to fall against her thighs._

_It didn't stay there for long however, as it's limp form metamorphized into a hardening rod. It's warmth radiated against the cold night air, and she couldn't help but be drawn to it. It took every ounce of power in her body not to push him down onto the stone cold floor and feel it._

_The thought of it entering her made her shudder._

_She wouldn't have to imagine it for long._

_"Then..." It moved it's position between her slit as she felt her underwear being shifted out of the way, right at where it's supposed to belong oh so long ago. "I thrust it..." A pained moan tore itself free of her throat. "With... great... force..." He didn't even wait for her to adjust. Each word was punctuated with a hard pistoning of his hips._

_"Aah... Hngh..."_

_Yes..._

_This is what she'd yearned for beyond her wildest dreams, ever since that time she woke up to the sight of him in his undressed state. Even back then, she'd thought that a dream instead._

_This was what she'd always wanted._

_"Louis... Ahh..."_

_She wanted this._

_She wanted... _

_Him._

_"Faster..."_

_Her fantasies only got wilder with each passing day, up to the point where, even if it wasn't fair, she would imagine his face over Sun's and tried to ignore him as he made out with her._

_"Every angle..." He can feel his hot breath and his teeth nipping against her neck now, claiming her to forever be his woman. "It penetrates..."_

_Another groan pushed past her lips as she felt her crop top being lifted off her shoulders, exposing her soft mounds to the night air._

_He was getting faster._

_Faster... and deeper with each thrust._

_"... I... ram it in...!"_

_Her back arched backwards. Her lips parted to scream out his name but what came out instead was a muffled blister of air as his lips overtook hers. She can feel his large hands linking around her back to hold her down so that she wouldn't move too far away as his tongue swirled around hers._

_"And in the end..." As his head drew back a string of saliva that connected the two of them broke. His face was flushed red, and on a second look, so was his topless body, full of both her sweat mixed with his. Who was panting harsher, she could not tell. As she glanced down, Blake only had one thing in her mind, and that was Louis._

_He, in return, looked the same, with only her filling his mind._

_She felt it getting hotter and start to throb._

_One. She can feel him depositing something within her. Two. Three. She felt him pump it all out inside of her, filling her up. Four._

_"We are all satisfied." When his hands left her, she stumbled in place, her legs feeling like jelly as she struggled to find purchase. _

_The moment he left her, she missed his warmth that was just inside her a few seconds ago immediately, even as part of him trailed down her thighs. "And... you're set free." He turned his back to her as he walked away, with her hand reaching out even as her vision blurred._

_No..._

_She was left alone on the cold floor. Alone, shuddering, and hungry for more._

_"Don't go... " She grasped the thin air. "Please."_

_Louis gave his two finger salute._

_"Louis stop!"_

Her amber eyes snapped open.

Immediately, the once vivid image vanished into a blur while she inhaled in a loud gasp.

Her breaths came out in heavy pants, chest heaving up and down as wild eyes flicked to the person in charge of putting her in such a messed up state.

The low, orange glow from the nearby bonfire was the only thing illuminating his face up as he rested his neck against his backpack, his jagged greatsword on standby to face any incoming intruders.

_Ugh..._

She had one of... _those_ dreams again.

...

Even if she woke up feeling uncomfortable, she had to ask.

Why couldn't it last just a bit longer...?

"Damnit..." Blake's fingers went under her sleeping bag to check that she was indeed, wet yet again. Why it had come off as a surprise, she does not know. Her skin was slick with a sheen of sweat and... other fluids.

She took in deep breaths, attempting to steady her breathing.

Her eyes flicked for a brief moment to look at the sleeping figure of her male teammate who had turned on his side with his back facing her.

Louis knew that she liked him. He knew ever since the start of the second semester of their days in Beacon. Ever since she indirectly confessed, where he had declined. The memory had stung till this day, but was mitigated by the fact that he was willing to give her a chance now.

So why?

Why did it feel so wrong to be dreaming about him this way?

Is it because he liked her for what she was, yet she lusted after him instead?

"No..." Blake muttered under her breath, slamming her body on her back as she scrunched her eyes shut to try and fall asleep, rolling over to face the other side. Anywhere would be perfect right now as long as she wasn't facing him.

_He needs time to accept it and consider it. Besides..._

_I'm not the only one on his waiting list._

Even if it might hurt that he didn't return her feelings and chose their leader instead, she'd accept the fact that she had a chance.

She wasn't gonna rush things.

_Not again._

_Not like what I did with Adam._

_..._

_..._

_Should I snuggle up to him? _Her mind suggested.

"Shut up..." She muttered out loud.

_It'll be a step further to gaining the reply you want._

No...

She couldn't.

...

Could she?

_But it'll be nice and comfy._ Her treacherous mind said. _Surely he wouldn't mind..._

"No..." She mumbled again. "Go away..."

_Yes..._ Her mind contradicted. _Imagine those hard abs in your dreams. He'd been working hard in rehab just for you..._

...

_Maaaaaybe... just a little._

One eye cracked open as she sought out to do what she wanted.

It met lilac.

"Hey there uh... Kitty kat."

It took all her power to hold down a scream that was working it's way out of her throat as she felt her cheeks heat up, turning her face redder then Ruby's cloak.

She had been caught ogling Louis red handed.

"How long have you been awake?" She managed to ask through her dry throat in what she hoped wasn't too nervous of a tone.

"Quiiiite a while now..." Yang replied, her tone flat while her lilac orbs remaining unblinking and wide. Even though it was obvious she was deep in thought, it looked uncanny as a doll, even as her eyes wasn't directly aimed at her face. Blake couldn't tell if it was the orange hue from the fire, but she was almost certain the blonde brawler's cheeks were constantly turning red as well.

"What?" Blake asked incredulously when it seemed like her partner was broken as a full minute went by without a response.

"You uh..." Yang mumbled as she tried to explain, blinking as she rolled her tongue in her mouth for what felt like hours. "How do I say this?"

"What Yang?" Blake spat as she suddenly felt like strangling her partner.

It wasn't like the buxom blonde to get a cat on her tongue.

_Damnit Yang..._

"You were sorta..." She tried to find the correct words as yellow orbs pierced her gaze. Never has she seen the blonde brawler this fidgety. Usually, she'd be the one to put up a strong front as she cracked her lame or dirty jokes.

"Sorta...?" Blake was about to die from the anticipation alone. Why was Yang hesitating so much?

"...sorta... moaning his name in your sleep." The blonde finally managed to get through, breathing heavily while she shuffled uncomfortably in place.

...

...

For how long?"

"The past hour... nonstop." Yang gulped. "It was so... so sensual that it even got me out of my comfort zone. I wanted to wake you up but... you seemed to be enjoying your dreams so much that I couldn't be bothered."

...

...

"And how much did you hear?"

"Pretty much... Everything..."

...

"I... see."

...

...

A full minute later, Blake sat upright, shoulders stiff and movements as robotic and rigid. She had her back facing the brawler as she dug into the sleeping bag, and Yang couldn't make out her features as she rummaged in silence.

"Where are you going?" Yang raised a worried brow at her partner as she automatically echoed her partner and jolted upright.

"Tell Louis that I love him." She brandished Gambol Shroud in front of her with both hands before kneeling down. "Thank you Yang, my life outside the White Fang had been a fun one."

"Woah woah woah!" The blonde brawler immediately scrambled to lunge at the faunus as she raised Gambol Shroud up high with both hands. Orange hair blocked her vision.

_Later..._

_Louis's POV_

"Okay..." I scratched the back of my neck as I threw a glare at the cat faunus. "What the hell just happened last night?!"

_The moment I cracked my eye open with my mind still half dazed, it was to see Blake almost committing seppuku!_

_Can't a man get his sleep?!_

_Thank the brothers her Aura shielded her from penetrating completely, and that Penny had not been on power saving mode._

The ginger cyborg had somehow managed to track us with her radar, coming to us in the dead of night as she literally mowed through the forest.

The saplings that grew and manage to find themselves impeding her path didn't survive the android's sharp blades.

_In fact, if she hadn't sounded off, I would've fired up Requiem in thoughts that it was another large Beringel._

Thank god for her arrival, for her interference was the only thing stopping Blake from gaining the same scar on her naval Adam had stabbed through at the end of Volume 3.

Blake didn't respond at all. In fact, she looked twice her age and paler then usual as she rigidly took her morning tea. Her face was set in a dead smile as yellow eyes stared onto the grass.

"Uh..." Yang drawled on as she scratched her cheek. "I really don't think you want to agitate her more then she already is Louis."

"How exactly am I agitating her for asking what took place last night?" I raised a curious brow as I stared at her incredulously. "If there was a Grimm capable of influencing her decisions or worse, having complete control of her mind, I have the right to know. This just made Salem all more dangerous then she already is."

"It's not Grimm..." The blonde brawler explained for the sake of her partner.

"Then...?" My eyes snapped to hers.

"It's uhh... " The purple eyed girl looked towards the sky for a source of inspiration. "PMS?"

"I'm pretty sure the mood swings do NOT include suicidal tendencies." I felt my eye twitch while my lips twisted into a frown. "If it does, I would be handling 4 suicidal teenagers for a team for 12 months straight. Pretty sure that didn't happen."

"It doesn't..." Yang agreed and attempted to explain when it was very clear that she was trying her best to wing it. "But the pain is... unbearable. Yeah, that's it!" She laughed nervously. "Nothing wrong with wanting to die every once a month! Hahahaa..."

...

I sighed, then rested the back of my hand on the faunus's forehead.

Blake immediately flinched the moment it made contact.

It was burning.

So were her cheeks.

"You sure you're alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Blake muttered as she finally snapped out of her catatonic state.

_I know she was emo and all, but to suddenly just kill herself? That's so out of character, even for her._

"Are you sure?" I pushed for confirmation.

It took her a while, but eventually, she nodded slightly.

...

"If you say so." I sighed, finally letting the issue go, much to both partner's relief if their slumped shoulders were anything to go by.

"Everything under control?" Derrick strode by as he tossed me a bottle of soda.

"Yeah, we gucci." I confirmed, before a soft click resounded, and an immense jet of purple blasted me square in the face.

"I..." Derrick's face paled as I threw a stone cold glare at him. "I forgot that we might've shaken it when we were hurtling out of the ship..."

...

"I'll find a river and wash up..." I sighed, getting up as I licked the sweetened liquid from my lips and wiped a hand across my face, flapping it for good measure before walking away.

_Kevin's POV_

"There's no way you're that forgetful." Kevin snorted once Louis was out of sight. "Not with all the lores you manage to memorize, and not unless you're Clumsy D."

Derrick's shoulders rose and fell, before the edge of his lips twisted into a smirk.

"What are you playing at D?" Kevin's eyes flicked back and forth at the man and his task as he chopped carrots and potatoes for what seemed to be, curry boiling away over the fire.

"Did you forget the bet we made?" He chuckled darkly.

"No, but what does that have to do with sending Louis awa-" Kevin's eyes widened. "Oh, you sneaky bastard."

"Yeap." He strolled over to the girls, making sure to get a good glance at Ruby's sleeping form before he settled down in front of Blake.

_Blake's POV_

"Hi." Derrick, if she remembered correctly, greeted.

"Heeey..." Yang rose a suspicious brow at him as lilac eyes flicked to her sister for but a brief moment.

"We don't have much time so I'm gonna be frank." He admitted. "You like Louis." He pointed a finger at Blake.

Blake's face found itself reddening again. At this rate, she'll feel light-headed and hopefully pass out in no time.

"So?" Yang answered for her partner yet again.

"What if I tell you, that I could help?"

"Why are you suddenly interested in her winning him over?" Yang's eyes suddenly flashed crimson as she let out a fearsome growl. "What do you have to gain?"

"Woah woah," Derrick held out both hands as he attempted to calm down the raging blonde who's hair is close to going up in flames. "I'm just offering my services because you guys aren't too familiar with the cultures on earth, which is his place of origin mind you."

"And why should we listen to you?" The blonde brawler's eyes narrowed. "What's to say this isn't a setup doomed to fail? That seems to be the only thing you've been good at."

_Ouch._ Blake knew her partner was only sticking up for her. Still, that was uncalled for.

"Look," He sighed in a way that told her he was used to the insults as he took off his beanie and ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. "I only want to help. I'm only gonna tell you what I know, and you can choose whether or not you want to follow it. You can all decide whether or not you want to hang me later on. Quick disclaimer, I'm not saying that what I suggest would have a one hundred percent success rate." He admitted before Blake could ask further. "I'm just saying that I have information that you don't. What I can tell you would make most men go crazy. If you'd let me help, and it fails, can't say you didn't try your best with a native's support." He shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you say?"

Yang looked like she wanted nothing but to sock his jaw and tell him to buzz off, but Blake held out her hand to reign her partner in.

The purple eyed brawler stared at the cat faunus for long moments.

"You can't actually be considering this Kitty Kat." She muttered as her jaw hung open in the air.

"It's not like he's putting me into a corner." Blake shrugged honestly, the first, proper response they got from her ever since the debacle this morning. "In the end, it's my choice if I want to follow his suggestions or not." She eyed Derrick to make sure he was nodding as a confirmation. "And I'm not desperate enough to want to let Louis into my life so badly, that I couldn't tell the difference between what's blackmail material and what isn't. Can't hurt to try."

Derrick held a finger up and opened his mouth to complain that he would never do such a thing.

A glare, one from the chef cooking their breakfast and followed up by one from the blonde brawler got him to clamp up.

Yang's teeth ground against each other as her eyes flicked between Blake and Derrick, before getting up to walk over to her sister, but not before she shot him a dirty look.

"Try anything funny," She warned. "Especially if it involves my sister," Yang hissed threateningly. "And you're dead."

"If that ever happens I'm pretty sure Louis would get to me first." He waved off as the blonde brawler sat down beside the sleeping bag, stroking her sister's hair and careful to let her have ample rest. "So," He grinned ever so cunningly, threatening his face to split in two, causing Blake to have second thoughts. "Where should we start?"

_Qrow's POV_

"... so, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a chance do you think I have on winning your nieces over?"

"Kid, you better shut your yap before I do it for you." Qrow warned as he pulled Harbinger's blade out of the Beowolf's skull and prayed to the Brothers he got the message.

He didn't and continued to ramble on.

"I mean, really, is Ruby the lovechild of you and Summer? It just makes so much sense that she wields a scythe like you do and-"

"For the last time, no she's not!" The huntsman snapped. _Why do they even keep him around?! They should've just left him back at Vale!_

How he ended up saving the most annoying one, he had no idea. His Semblance was off, there was no denying that. The gash on his forehead that had yet to heal reminded him of that fact.

"But you... _used_ to have feelings for her." The pudgy teen pushed on, causing the nerve within the side of his head to jut out. "For Summer... right?"

"And what makes you think I should answer you?"

"Is that a yes?"

Qrow glared daggers at the boy as he felt his blood pressure rise tenfold, yet it seemed to have no effect on him.

He's got to make sure Glynda still kept his insurance card, because he had a feeling he'll be needing it very, very soon.

"Well..." The alien deflated as he kicked at the ground, causing a loose pebble to skip out of the way, which for some reason warranted Qrow to automatically imagine his youngest niece in his place.

It was all so wrong to see even a small bit of her in the fat, young man before him.

"That's true I guess..." He continued as he linked both his hands behind his back as his lower jaw jutted out into a pout.

"No." Qrow looked straight ahead as he let out a strained breath. "Fuck no."

_I'm not dealing with this shit right now._

He did not need an alien to taint the image of his niece.

_Deep breaths Qrow. Deep breaths._

Qrow was sure he heard about having 'Fan theories being unconfirmed for now' or something muttered under his breath, but ignored it as they trudged through the muddy expanse of the forest.

"Now shut up and be useful for once." The drunkard yelled as he brushed a branch aside, letting go with the purpose of it smacking the earthling square in the face. It worked.

"Keep a lookout." Qrow hid his smug smirk from the sight of the person he was escorting as he continued to walk a good distance in front of him. "We need to find the others as soon as possible. There's no telling how many other Geists there are float'in round'ere. It's not like I could defend you forever." _That, and any more exposure to your idiocy will make even Winter Schnee look nice in my eyes._

Perhaps it was not the foreigner that needed defending. Maybe it was him.

"Soon enough your Aura's gonna go back up and you're gonna heal up." Dwiki huffed. "So I don't get how that's gonna be a problem."

"Did you forget what my Semblance was?" Qrow attempted to reason with a lie.

"We made it this far didn't we?"

Qrow grumbled under his breath.

"I swear if I'm gonna hear another word from you, I'm gonna lose it..." Qrow groaned. "You're worse than Yang when she's on a pun streak, and that's saying a lot."

"Well can you at least tell me what I lack?" Dwiki asked as he kicked the muddy ground once more, eyes roving up to plead at the huntsman, causing him to stop and let out an exasperated sigh. "I mean, you're just so... cool that I couldn't help but feel like you're the right person for the job..."

_Well when he puts it like that..._

"Look," Qrow sighed once again. "You're hormonal and you want to get girls. I get it, it's normal for your age and I was a teen once too. But... it'll wear off soon enough, and you're gonna have to realize that this is just an illusion of life. Get a girl at your age now, and it'll hurt like a bitch later on in life. Trust me."

"But I'm 22..." Dwiki groaned. "I don't want to die a virgin..."

"You won't." Qrow lied as he broke eye contact. "Everybody has to get their partners eventually. Just not my nieces." He added when Dwiki's face lit up.

It was the only way he could think of to shut him up.

"But Louis had no problem luring the both of em..."

In an instant, Qrow grabbed Dwiki by his collar as he was lifted a feet or two above ground. "What did you just say?"

"What makes you think I should answer you?" Dwiki mimicked Qrow from earlier with a fake throaty impression that ended up sounding like a frog croaking.

"Quit playing around brat." The huntsman's tone was flat and cold, set in a dead serious expression as his brows furrowed into an unrelenting glare. "Run that by me again."

Dwiki shrugged.

"Did you not notice how awfully quiet Ruby went back in the plane when you asked Yang what she meant by 'too'?"

Qrow's crimson eyes widened, his jaws dropping to the floor, followed by dropping Dwiki afterward.

_How had he been so blind?_

The bastard's show of strength by beating the crap out of him, twice no less. His show of affection towards him by letting him go first in the explanation and the offer to take away his bad luck Semblance to win his nieces over, and the fact that they feel like they owe him their lives by saving them at Beacon.

Their... lives... indebted... to him...

His alcoholic mind pieced one's and two's together. Or was it two's and two's?

"Uh... " Dwiki somehow still had the nerve to poke his side. "Qrow?"

"THAT'S IT!" Qrow's voice boomed throughout the deserted part of the forest. "I'm gettin' me scythe!"

_Louis's POV_

"Man, this stuff doesn't come off easy..." I muttered under my breath as I ran a hand through my hair to find the purple substance trailing down and sticking between my locks like melted candy.

_Really glad Yang wasn't here. She'd have had the time of her life teasing me to no end if she heard me say that._

_I wonder how the others are doing..._

We never managed to arrange a search party for the others before the sun managed to set beyond the horizon. With the darkness that befell us before we could do anything, what was supposed to be a harmless stakeout in a confined radius, even with a party, can turn dangerous, especially if there were more Grimm at the level of Beringels prowling around.

The majority of the party was with me, with Yang and myself being the front line fighters while we have Ruby and Blake for range if needed. Ruby could also swap in case either of us gets tired, so even with Derrick and Kevin to look out for, we were pretty much covered.

Penny was on power saving mode since power was limited until we can find civilization, but I'm sure her reserves could boot her up for armed combat if push comes to shove.

The rest of the group should be relatively safe, if the information Derrick gave us was reliable and hadn't changed for the last 12 hours. If Amber really was with Adrian, then that left Qrow with Dwiki. Both powerhouses of their own and leagues beyond whatever we could achieve, with or without their Aura.

So, we did the next best thing and camped the night in, with me lending my sleeping bag to Blake for much needed comfort, and Kevin's to Yang, while Ruby had her hood to keep her snug and warm.

Nobody trusted Derrick's to be clean, so he got to keep his.

Besides, the grass was soft enough to sleep in, and my backpack _did_ make a comfortable substitute for a pillow.

Obviously, right before the Grimm attacked, we covered quite the distance from Vale in our Bullhead, saving probably 4 month's worth of travel time altogether from what Team RNJR went through on foot in Volume 4.

"Now all that's left to do is find out where Evans had set the rendezvous point, and we should be able to travel all the way to Haven on foot."

As if summoned by my thoughts, a flare rose high up into the air and a loud explosion shook the forest. When I made to look, it was to see a large fireball fizzling out nearby the foot of a mountain a few miles out.

Heat washed over my face, and before my brain could register what it was, it dissapated.

"Uh..."

_That wasn't the smartest move..._

Especially if what he said on the airship was true, then Cinder and her crew have had to have reached Haven by now, or had already set up camp as they split into groups to seek out the Spring Maiden.

If that's true, then at this rate they'll not only snag Raven...

But with the large ass 'KICK ME' sign Evans just sent out, Amber as well.

Then again, there was no other way to notify us of her location without giving it away. Not unless she wanted to start a forest fire, which would alert the Grimm nearby before we'd start to notice.

_I just have to hope that the hunt hadn't started just yet._ Or if it did, that whoever was on patrol was far enough away that we'd make it to Amber first.

Unless...

With a grunt, I hefted Requiem on my shoulder and activated it's ranged form. It mecha shifted with a whirr and a deep clank, splitting in the middle as hard-light Dust formed in the middle.

Slipping a specialized glove on, I snapped the extended crimson tinted Dust off it's tip and hurtled it with all my might. With my superior huntsman-in-training physique, it went a good 60 or so meters in a diagonal angle before it reached the pinnacle of it's height and started to arc down.

I snapped my fingers, causing my glove to glow, then I closed my ears, and hoped for the best.

It exploded in a similar fashion, hopefully sounding off louder to travel in a wider distance.

"I hope that was enough to throw them off..." I muttered as I set Requiem back on the river bank while I strode towards the currents of the river and started to cleanse myself once more in the knee deep water that was rushing against my feet.

_Or at least, buy us some time to get there..._

_Evans you idiot..._

A loud caw resounded behind me, causing me to sigh in relief.

Well that answers the question of just how loud it was.

"Took you a while to track us Qrow." I smirked as I rubbed my armpits free from the sugary substance. "Here I thought we'd find you first."

He didn't respond.

"Yeah yeah, I get that you're pissed off finding me half naked while you're battling in a Grimm infested forest with no situation on your nieces. You can relax. Yang and Ruby are with me, so let me just wrap this up and-"

A loud splash echoed behind me as cold water splashed against my back. Before I could turn around and react, I felt a sharp end of a blade dig into my spine.

"Qrow, what are you-?!"

I immediately froze at the sight of a crimson pair of eyes.

My voice died in my throat as long, choppy hair filled my vision, along with red, ornate armor with feathers decorating it's hem.

Red eyes roved at my topless figure up and down, observing my battered body.

Sure, the holes that I gained during the Fall was technically 'cured' by Aura, but it's not like it didn't leave a mark. Or... marks, in this case.

After a satisfied nod, her eyes finally met mine.

"You... " She recalled as her tounge poked the inside of her cheeks. "Were the one within the armour during the Fall of Beacon, and the one who saved my daughter in the train."

With her Odachi, Omen, threatening to break through my Aura, I gave her a baleful nod over my shoulder.

For some reason, Raven licked her lips.

**A/N**

**Apologies to those of you wanting your Reviews, but I have to set this one aside for now. Let it off my chest, that sorta thing.**

**Stupid pandemic being a thing here now aside, ****I've never been a big fan of these personal notes, because as much as I'd like to share what's happening with y'all, I consider it a waste of space when you guys could be reading the fic, and that I personally find it a waste of time trying to vent something I couldn't change.**

**Now, comes the grim part. Uhh... there's not really an easy way to say this. Living in an age and society where having 1 job is no longer sufficient enough to provide for expenses had been difficult, but I managed to pull through the last 7 months or so while writing this fic with your support, so thank you.**

**But now... I need to make ends meet for not only for myself, but my family as well.**

**Hell, I'm surprised it even took this long to happen xD. We're 60 chapters in, only then does stuff like this happen. Dangit, we're so close to the end too.**

**Kidding, still quite far away in that regard.**

**Now, hold your horses before you unfollow or unfav. I'm not abandoning this story, not at all. And this fic had been and will continue to be FREE all the way towards the end since it started off as a passion project of my own liking and my creative control, with Evans taking a part in it too.**

**However, now I may not be able to update in a week's time or half a week anymore, and will probably take longer to do chapters in between while I try to find alternate ways to find them greens. **

**Now, FF isn't burdening me in any way. I love what I do here in FF and will continue to do so. If I were to ever lose my passion (Via Burnout), I would take a short break because I know I wouldn't enjoy writing the chapters, and that would result in you guys reading chapter's that are half assed but uploaded on time, which is not what either of us wants.**

**So, without further ado, I'll probably open up a page in a week's time, put it on my profile where you guys could probably donate to on your own free will, with your own courtesy, of course, there's no set amount of limit one should be paying and nobody will be forced into paying for anything.**

**The last thing I want it for you guys, my supporters, to be out of funds and eating oatmeal or instant noodles for the next month.**

**Eh ehm... not that I know from experience or anything...**

**That being said, I have no idea how to do this, I've never done online transactions so that's why I'm giving myself a deadline of next week setting it up. If there are any other sites that allow for easier setup, let me know.**

**I know it's a huge step for me, but it's the only one I've got right now.**

**If it reaches it's target where I'm able to feed myself off FF and save... idk about more than half the salary from my current job, then we might even go back to weekly or half a week chapter updates again which quality I will be more then happy to try to maintain.**

**Also, I**** would like to ask to any of you reading this, if any of you guys would like to commission me in my writing for specific pairings. [Doesn't have to be smut, could just be a short romance story or a short humor story or etc, and that is just one of many examples.]**

**I know I'm a far cry away from being perfect in my writing, but I'm willing to try and step out my comfort zone to do my best in these.**

**Obviously, the characters needn't be intertwined to this fic, and if the characters in it are, it'll be out of canon one shots. Also, this would be binded towards RWBY specifically, since I'm already comfortable in writing the characters.**

**Smut is ok... I guess, but it has to be limited to a one shot since I don't want it to take time away from my main fic which you guys enjoy. Obviously, if you guys want to commission further for it to continue, then it will.**

**Again, never tried the online transaction thing, so it might take a while to get used to.**

**In my personal experience, I tend to skip over the sex scenes that gets way too descriptive, but I could do those if that's really what you guys want.**

**I'll cross this line... considering the pairings aren't too wrong. [Seriously... Zwei x Anybody, Really?] Obviously if you guys are willing to pay the price while I slowly lose my sanity... then so be it... [I'm looking at you DankAnon...]**

**Take what I wrote above as a freebie, a thank you in way for you guys sticking through. Obviously this is just to show you guys how far I've come as a writer and a small sample to what I could do, and would continue to improve for more.**

**Obviously, it would be a completely separate fic altogether _or_ if you guys don't want to share it, I could always keep it personal in PM's, which will be linked as a google doc file or smth. Do let me know in advance.**

**If any of you experienced writers reading this have any other idea based on your experience on how to make off FF since it's the only thing I have going right now, I would be happy to hear it and consider any options available.**

**That's it for now, Louis out.**

**Now, finally, the moment you've been waiting for. Onto the Reviewer Sessions.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**shadehuntsman666: Wait, you mean read the whole fic all over again, or read the scene over again?**

**Darkrider220: I know most of my friends quit at V1 due to their lack of budget back then, and that's the reason why I decided to go and reintroduce their clothing. Glad you liked it, was a pain in the ass to do.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: 1: No prob fam 2: Isn't it everybody's headcanon? xD**

**The Ancient Irish King: Well you called it, so pat yourself in the back.**

**DankAnon: I'm sure I don't want my eyes to be targeted. One of the theories is that Ruby would lose her sight just because of her silver eyes. Oooh, pray tell the one with Futa Yang. Well, in any case that does happen when I walk into the room, and I quote: "What the hell is this?"**

**paradox0.5white: Really? That's new to me.**

**sacke110: It wasn't specifically aimed at you bro, because as time goes by, I figured some hadn't even got past Vol 1, but I would be lying if I were to say you weren't part of it. Eh... if you're ever curious if I quoted anybody, I'm sure you could just youtube it up. Wink Wink. Yeah, now she got herself into an even more STICKIER situation. **


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N**

**Welp, I hope you guys are staying safe at your homes out there, this pandemic is taking a toll on all of us. **

**Anyways, I said I'll have P a treon or smth like that set up by around this week, but I have yet to figure out how to get it to work, so it'll be a while more for that to be finalized and such. Thank you guys for your patience on waiting the week out though, Corona has made work very taxing and both my physique and brain very tired because of the commotion it caused and the actions I have to take, thus, the delay on this chapter and such.**

**Let's all just pray it'll glaze over soon.**

**Thanks for all the well wishes and support you guys said you could possibly give, I'll be looking forward to where this fic can update back to it's regulated schedule again.**

**Also, yay! New cover art! Brings you back down memory lane now doesn't it?**

**No, I wouldn't be leaving in enshrouded in shadows forever, and yes, you guys will be unlocking them one by one with me along this journey as soon as my P a treon starts running. ****How cool is that?!**

**Sorry I couldn't do the 'Trailers', it's a little bit out of both my budget range and it'll take time out of this fic and delay it even more, hehe.**

_Pyrrha's POV_

"Feels just like we're right back in initiation, doesn't it?" Jaune chuckled nervously while the champion's eyes squinted into a thin line to sharpen her focus, scanning the area for any moving silhouettes amongst the shade provided to them by the canopy over their heads.

"Maybe." She replied with half a nod, which told much about her attention on her boyfriend.

There was nothing wrong being too careful. Although the cover from the leaves above had sheltered them from the heat from the sun, it came with the disadvantages of casting harsh shadows which, in conjunction with the near blinding rays of light of the afternoon sun that were seeping through the spaces between the branches, provided the perfect camouflage for the creatures of Grimm, being naturally dark in color.

"You ever had a feeling that they uh," Jaune's wrist rotated in the air. "I don't know... forgot about us?"

When there were no sudden movements, Pyrrha paused for a while more for reassurance, before advancing, heels digging into the grass riddled mud while her boyfriend trailed not too far behind her.

"Well, forests do tend to be quite dense in nature." Pyrrha admitted, shoulders sagging ever so slightly while her green eyes remained sharp and alert. _Just like a certain someone..._ She chucked internally at her own joke while emerald orbs flicked briefly to the blonde knight, who had his shield on his right arm deployed and was looking on edge as he rotated his head to look at their rear.

"It's going to be difficult for them to cover a large area, especially if most of the men from Earth seems... untrained." That was the best indirectly unoffensive word she could come up with at the moment. It was obvious by the way they handled the Grimm on the airship, swinging their hands wildly even with a Huntsman level weapon.

_More than a Huntsman level weapon actually._ Pyrrha reminded herself. _Louis's weapons can reduce a pack of 12 or so Beowolves into ashes in seconds should he want it._

She shuddered at the thought of what would've ensued had they accidentally activated it's Overdrive function.

Shaking off her thoughts that went off trail, no pun intended considering the fact that they encountered a trail along the way, she decided to focus more on their current predicament.

"We did leave some marks on the trees back there," The champion stated. "So if they noticed it along the way, they should find us in no time."

"That is if they assume it wasn't just some random wild Grimm that made them."

"They won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The creatures of Grimm do tend to spawn in large quantities if the areas are unattended." Pyrrha explained. "They wouldn't just 'mark' trees out of instinct, despite their animalistic nature. There must've been some form of conflict for it to happen, usually with humans." She shrugged off casually, as if it was obvious. "In addition to that, the marks we made were from our weapons, sharp and manmade, not jagged and raw. The group will be able to tell the difference."

"And if it get's knocked down?"

"Then we'd just have to hope that doesn't happen." She couldn't help but giggle optimistically with her attention still honed ahead. "I mean what are the odds of the others encountering something like that large Ursai we fought?"

"You mean the large Ursai _you_ fought," Jaune whined, expression settling to pout while his shoulders noticeably slumped. "Even the fact that it was a Major didn't seem to be a problem for you."

The champion noticeably winced, but hid it quickly.

She was about to point out that it wasn't actually a Major, and the fact that the population of normal Ursa here grew to the size of a common Ursa Major in the Emerald Forest had even her astonished, but she bit back the urge to correct him.

Back in the day, she would've hated comments like that. Being a worldwide renowned champion and 4 time regional champion of Mistral hadn't been easy, especially with the fact that she had to put up a strong front to conceal the disappointment when people put her up on a pedestal.

It was always, _"Smile for the camera, wave, and be polite and gentle."_ as her agent would put it.

_"Be sweet, and they'll love you."_

_"Always be nice, no matter what. That is... if you want to keep your title."_

She could never be her true self. Not in public.

Until they came.

She stopped in her tracks, and her mind wandered back to the past, where they... she, had been saved by them. There was another world out there other than Remnant. A place where their lives were made for nothing but entertainment that was limited to nothing but a screen, like a zoo animal trapped within a cage.

What did the audience feel when she had killed Penny? Disgust? Rage? Pity?

What had the audience feel like when she was killed? Sadness? Sorrow? Perhaps even justice Penny's death.

But they changed that. They helped her get a Jaune and she even broke down in front of them. But unlike the spectators and her fans who she knew for certain will lose all respect for her show of weakness with judgmental eyes, they instead helped her so that they could all make it out alive.

Time spent with Team RWBY had told her that Weiss and her were almost on parallels at that aspect.

She wasn't as invincible as the others had thought. Weiss wasn't as perfect as the others saw her as.

Here they were, wearing masks they were taught and forced to wear ever since they were nothing but children.

She had to wonder how the white clad heiress was doing back at her homeland.

At least her restrictions only extended to her agents, and not her family members. She couldn't imagine what the unfortunate heiress is going through right now.

She let out a sigh of part relief, part sorrow.

It did not go unnoticed by Jaune.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied flatly as her arms fell to her side.

Jaune would probably ask again later no doubt, but she was thankful that he let it slide, at least for now.

She let her thoughts wander again to the current situation at hand.

With the Grimm of Remnant now possibly hunting them down actively, along with Cinder and ... _Salem's_ other acolytes, any one of them could die at any given moment. At the end of the day, they were all human.

This was no longer a show that could be predicted to the men of Earth. Every action the group made, no matter how small or big, would have a consequence.

Just because she avoided her destiny of death in the hands of Cinder during the Fall, doesn't mean that she could run from it forever.

There was no 'latter opportunity' this time, no 'second chance' or 'reset'.

What Louis said in the airship played in her head. Over and over again.

_"Salem couldn't be killed."_

_"Why didn't Ozpin just tell u-"_

_"Because he didn't want you to lose hope."_

On that note, he was right.

They couldn't lose hope. Shouldn't.

They couldn't afford to.

Then again, this was the same man that had offered her the responsibility of the world on her shoulders. Although she had a choice to decline, someone else would've been made a maiden in her place.

It was only a matter of time before she had to face her destiny.

Her eyes roved to Jaune, who was taking in flora and fauna in awe.

So she wasn't about to deflect a compliment, especially if it came from the blonde knight. If destiny had brought _them_ here, and _they_ had brought them together, then it couldn't be a mere coincidence.

She was gonna make the most of this chance _they_ had made for her.

She was gonna spend most of her time with her friends by being herself, and not dawn on that godforsaken mask she wore all the time.

And the best part is, she wasn't gonna go through this alone. She had the people of Earth, she had Team JNPR. She had Team RWBY, but most importantly...

She had Jaune.

_After all, Louis did say to make my own decisions as me for once._

_Don't want their efforts to be in vain, after all._

"Thank you Jaune," The champion said.

"For what?"

"The compliment, of taking down the Ursa-"

"Major." Jaune corrected smugly with his know-it-all tone.

She had to push down the urge to correct him once more and gulped down her fear that there may be more. "But I don't think I could've been able to take down that Ursa without you by my side."

And just like that, the courage built from probably an hour of pondering out in the wild drained out of her as she realized what she just said.

Her cheeks burned brilliant red.

The red haired champion can feel Jaune's eyes peeling away from the back of her head while his fingers scratched either his cheek or the back of his neck. He always does that when she looked flustered.

_It was technically his fault she was in this state. It would only be fair that he compensated in his own way._

The minute distraction was more than enough, for in that moment, Jaune stumbled on some uneven ground, caking the ancestral blade he carried and the spotless breastplate in mud as he fell face first.

"Pffffft..." Pyrrha's hands immediately flew up to cover her mouth.

"Haha, real funny." Jaune grumbled under his breath as he wiped some of the sticky brown substance off his face. "It's your fault for being so beautiful to look at."

Those words were enough to drive the champion into silence once more. Her eyes shifted to the ground, her cheeks burning as red as her hair as she fiddled with Milo's handle.

"I never get tired of hearing you say that, y'know..." She muttered as she released a long breath, before turning around and extending a hand towards her man.

"And I never get tired of seeing that face." He replied.

"What fac-"

Before she could even process what happened, he lurched after her, grabbed the back of her head and twisting sideways to deliver a hungry kiss. The fact that it tasted like mud or that some of it may have gotten within didn't even matter to her.

Mist immediately clouded her mind as her hands instinctively went up to grasp at his messy golden locks which had grown in the past few months of inactivity, pulling him even deeper into the passionate embrace as their tongues intertwined.

When the two parted, and it was due to lack of air than anything, Jaune drew back with a satisfied smirk, though Pyrrha could very well feel it was already there when their lips touched. Her blush just intensified when his eyes sought hers to take in the sight of her expression.

"That face." The blonde knight chuckled as she felt his hands trailing down her exposed upper back and down onto her hips, making her shudder with every inch traveled when it caused goosebumps to travel down her spine.

His clamped down on her cheek, or cheeks to be more precise, and gave it a tight squeeze.

"J... Jaune." Pyrrha inhaled sharply as the mist returned to her mind and her eyes which widened as she realized the hungry gaze the knight was giving her. He licked his lips in anticipation. Her throat felt dry. "Not now..."

"I don't see why not." Jaune said as he dove in for her neck.

His teeth grazed at her skin, marking her just like she had him a few nights before the flight here, causing her to gasp harshly.

A low growl interrupted their thoughts.

The champion's heel slammed into the back of the Beowolf's skull before it could even move in for the kill via roundhouse kick, then quickly retracted her foot mid air to sever the nape, which was only made possible due to the sharpened armour plates Louis and Evans had provided for her on the sides of her footwear.

"That's 'why not'." Pyrrha gasped again as that maneuver inadvertently caused her around and let him out of her vision, and that chance didn't go unnoticed. He now had his hands latched onto her, with one wrapped around her naval to prevent her escape, while the other, wasting no time, found itself on her breast.

She moaned when she felt the pressure of him squeezing against the thin leather armour she wore, and elicited another when he gently pulled her hair to crane her neck sideways and tease the forefront of his tongue alone her jawline.

"You're hot when you do that y'know..." Jaune whispered when he reached her ear.

"D-do what?" She panted.

"Kick Grimm butt." He specified as their waists touched. "Or any butt to be specific, makes me wanna claim yours."

S-she looked hot to him when she fights...?

"W-why now of all times...?"

"Well, I did say that this reminded me of the Emerald Forest." He gestured around him with one hand as they gently rocked from side to side, though Pyrhha's mind couldn't make any sense as to what he could be hinting at. "And you nearly impaled me back then..." He said, hands roving dangerously near her waist while his hands ever so slowly moved downwards to attempt to undress her. "I think it's about time I return the favor..."

"Ye-"

"Oh get a room you two!"

Just as fast as they closed in to find themselves in such a precarious position, they split apart as if two ends of the same magnetic pole and faced away from each other, uncomfortably shuffling in place.

Both their faces were hot and red, as if they just swallowed something incredibly spicy, eyes slowly roving towards the source of their intrusion.

Familiar short, orange hair popped out of the bushes nearby as she went up to them with a cheerful prance, grinning from ear to ear. "There's nothing to be ashamed of." She saluted like a soldier being called on duty. "I'm pretty sure even the armour Louis and Evans made couldn't protect you from _everything_."

"NORA!" Ren jogged up to the hammer wielding girl as he panted harshly. "Sorry," He apologized as he held his hand out to take a few more deep breaths. The man apparently knew his priorities. After he finally seemingly calmed down, he continued. "I couldn't stop her..."

That was it? Truth be told Pyrrha was expecting more after a full minute or two to compose his exhausted self.

"I-it's ok." Pyrrha rushed to get out, all too happy with their orange-haired teammate's intrusion. Otherwise, she might just have complied to Jaune's wishes.

Despite the fact that they were together for a while now, they hadn't really... gotten there yet. Sure, they had intimate nights, but at most, Jaune had only removed her top with her permission, and that was as far as she'd let it. He was kind enough to keep himself in check, despite how his face twisted into disappointment sometimes and she had no choice but to apologize internally.

She was unsure if she was ready for... that. Especially not when they were gathered in a party of more than a dozen where anybody could've walked in on them at any given time.

Nora's poorly or well timed, depending on how you see it, intrusion, just further proved that point.

At any rate, that explained why Jaune had been so daring this time around.

Though with the way he had requested for it to be done, she found that she actually found him to be quite adorable, being all insistent and desperate, and found the idea of begging like a puppy for her to be undone in the open like that quite... cute.

Her face flushed from bottom up like a thermometer exposed to a naked flame from Fire Dust, and her cheeks couldn't have gotten any redder by that point.

_Why did I even think about that?! _

Jaune coughed into his fist as he attempted to straighten his posture. The tip of always facing things with confidence from his father didn't appear to last long as he found his cheeks flushing once again while his eyes sought anywhere else but his teammate's. "Can you just... forget you saw anything?"

"Nope." Nora looked to be wearing a shit eating grin, and, with the same way Ruby would when she'd gotten into a 'denying all your doubts everything is going to be okay' mood, popped the word. "This'll be the main topic of discussion over the open campfire tonight!"

"No, no it won't." Ren clarified up with a flat tone, and an even flatter expression that was close to a deadpan. "We're sorry to intrude in on your... uh..." For once, the stoic gunman seemed to be flustered and had red tinted cheeks. Nora however, seemed unphased.

"I-it's ok." Pyrrha repeated again with while her hands frantically waved in the air in desperate hopes that they'll forget they saw the whole ordeal. "We weren't about to do anything in a forest full of Grimm anyway. It's dangerous here."

The disappointment on Jaune's sudden glum face was evident, and her heart crumbled into dust as an awkward silence fell between them.

_I'm sorry!_

"Well... if you say so." Nora linked her hands behind the back of her neck and spun on the balls of her foot to walk in a direction.

...

"Does she even know where she's going?" The blonde knight asked, all too happy with the distraction as he eyed their hammer wielding teammate.

"Nope." Ren popped. "Because that's the direction we just came from." He specified when Jaune raised a brow.

"Well, _a_ direction is better than _no_ direction right?" Jaune chuckled. "If we head in one, we're sure to run into Ruby and the others... Let's go team!" He pumped his fist in the air and hurriedly jogged up to Nora.

...

...

"Did... we come in at a bad time?" The eastern gunman asked with a raised brow as he holstered Stormflower by his sides when the champion made no motion to move. "Or perhaps say something wrong?"

"You didn't." Pyrrha sighed regretfully as she stared at the ground. "I did."

...

...

Pyrrha felt a large hand land on her shoulder, and when she made to look, Ren had a sympathetic smile on his face and is...

_Is he slowly losing color?_

A sudden rush of calm nothingness washed over her guilt like a cold evening breeze, causing her to gasp for air from the sudden influx in emotions.

"What... was that?" Pyrrha took a large gulp of air as Ren released his grip on the champion. "It felt like..."

"Like your emotions were being overtaken by a soothing wave, layers upon layers of it until they are completely muted?" The long haired man asked with a slight chuckle when Pyrrha nervously nodded. "That... would be my Semblance."

"Your... Semblance?" The red haired champion asked with a raised brow.

Ren had never shown any form of Semblance in his time at Beacon before.

As if reading her mind, he answered. "I never really used it at Beacon because it wasn't necessarily needed, with most of the student missions we go on being non-stealth and the fact that we always had each other's backs. It only helps when you're trying to hide in plain sight for a few seconds." He pointed out as he stood upright. "Comes in handy especially against Grimm. Drowns out negative emotions one might have while masking them at the same time."

_Almost as close as being an empath..._

"That'll certainly be used more often than not from now onwards." Pyrrha mused as she glanced to the woods around them.

Ren chuckled lightly as he extended an arm towards her.

"Better?"

"Better." Pyrrha smiled back with a warm chuckle. "I... needed that." She admitted as she subtly shook her head. "Thank you Ren."

"The pleasure is mine." He chuckled lightly in return, and started to walk in the direction his partner was in, with Pyrrha picking up Milo from the ground and trailing not too far behind.

_On the bright side, it wasn't Louis or any of Team RWBY who found them in such a state._

_Not that they would be surprised, at all. Evans and Louis and possibly Yang would probably cheer them on while they-_

Once more, Pyrrha felt her cheek heat up.

_Or any of the guys..._

She shuddered at the thought of Dwiki.

_Yang's POV_

"Louis!"

"Louis?!"

"Not good..." Yang slowly lifted a large, jagged dark blade up to eye level. "Guys! Over here!"

"What is it Yang?" Ruby asked, by her side in a matter of seconds. "We have to find Louis, what'd you- " She gasped loud enough to herald the attention of the others.

Soon, the group gathered in a rough circle as Yang held the weapon in both hands.

"Requiem." Kevin traced his finger amongst the length of the greatsword. He cursed under his breath. "That means he is without a weapon..."

"How is he supposed to defend himself?!" Ruby yelled, immediately clamping both hands over her mouth when she realized how loud she sounded and how her voice cracked midway.

"No use panicking now." Blake pointed out as amber eyes scanned the treeline across the river for any enemies. "We just have to hope for the best."

"You look too calm at the fact that he might be eaten by Grimm." Yang raised a brow.

"He wouldn't go down easily if it is Grimm." The raven-haired girl scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You saw how he took down that Beringel."

_Yeah, and you with it..._

"What if he was caught off guard?" Ruby questioned.

"This is Louis we're talking about." Kevin cut in before Blake could open her mouth. "He may seem unattentive at times but things like a creature trying to swallow him whole wouldn't just slip past him."

"Besides, if that was the case, there would be blood or scattered remains by the rocks or the river itself." Derrick agreed with a nod as he flung the cape of his purple hood over his shoulder.

Before they could investigate any further, an explosive voice overlapped the already loud water crashing against the rocks.

"I'll kill that bastard if it's the last thing I do!"

"Uncle Qrow...?" Ruby's brow lifted high when her drunken uncle's wild eyes frantically looking left and right as if searching for something, with Harbinger in scythe form and dried blood trailing down his forehead. With the way he looked, he may as well had been a murderous psychopath that just came out of the latest slasher movie.

"Where... is that Louis of yours?"

Ruby spluttered as her cheeks immediately burst aflame.

"Wh-what?! Mine? No no, he isn't mine, not at all. Uncle Qrow, what are you talking about? Ehe... Me and Louis? Psh." She waved a hand dismissively. "No way!" She had a pained smile on her face and the edge couldn't stop twitching. "Not in a million years!"

"Well dear niece of mine..." Qrow strode towards the small reaper in large strides. Ruby couldn't help but look small as he got closer, and closer, made even more so by taking a few steps back. His hands settled on her shoulders to prevent her escape. "I know for a fact that you think of liking boys as 'gross' back at Signal." Ruby shrunk under his gaze. "You don't seem to be that way now, so you have a lot of explaining to do." She whimpered as the tall man towered over her with his scythe in both hands. "Where. Is. He?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Yang sighed as she stepped in front of Ruby.

"You too firecracker?" Qrow let out an uncharacteristic snarl directed at his nieces. "Just how? You've always hated the idea of being with a boy back at Signal."

"Okay, _A) _The boys at Signal always look at me with an even, lecherous gaze because of my body. Even if they like me for who I am, I was never looking for a man to settle down with, which comes to my next point." This time it was Yang who made her uncle take a step back while her resonating stomp caused some pebbles to turn into dust. "_B)_ Who said I like him in that way?!"

"Gee, I wonder how he could've figured that one out." Kevin's deadpanned tone cut through her retaliation as a familiar round shape stepped out from behind Qrow.

"Of course." Derrick, Blake and Yang somehow found a way to deadpan together while Ruby just stood there, miffed that she had caved in without much trouble.

"Why me?" Dwiki mooed.

"Anyways, you can all kill him later." Kevin ushered over to the river while the others didn't break eye contact with the pudgy boy.

"He was with us, but now he's gone missing." He filled Qrow in. "If you want to find him, interrogation or no, help."

"Fine." Qrow flung an arm in the air. "You lot couldn't stop me even if you want to."

"We know." Derrick shrugged. "But she can." He pointed to Ruby.

"Then I guess I'll just have to chat with him privately..." Qrow's face darkened and his grin grew nothing short of sinister.

"Okay okay," Yang held both arms out in order to calm her cackling uncle. "But first, you might wanna... wash up?" Her finger waved up to down motion to her own face.

"What's wrong with my-" Was all he managed to say before Yang dragged him by the collar to the reflective surface of the calmer side of the river.

All they saw in the ripples of rushing water, was a tired face almost completely drenched in red.

"Oh..."

...

...

"So, what happened?" A fresher looking Qrow with slick, messy hair getting combed to the back of his head asked.

"Louis opened a can of soda, went to shower, and is now missing." Kevin summarized.

"What if it was Cinder?" Ruby questioned with a panicked tone. "Or even the others that were with her? With the maiden powers, she wouldn't leave a trace!"

Kevin shook his head. "There are no signs of a fight breaking out here either. If it was Cinder some of the rocks would be charred or dry. They're still moist and untouched."

"Which means..." Blake's eyes widened. "He was kidnapped?"

"Whoever did this was fast enough that Louis couldn't reach for Requiem before it happened." The rotund man examined the river, putting his hand into the cold water before taking it out and looking at it. "Assuming Louis took his bath in the middle of this river, where the currents rushing on him were about waist deep, there was no way he couldn't have heard someone enter the water."

"Unless the roaring waters masked their presence." Derrick pointed out.

"They would've made an obvious sound upon entering nevertheless."

"So either the person was quick enough to close the distance..." The beanie wearing man's eyes bulged. "Or airborne..."

"A Nevermore?" Yang suggested.

"No," Qrow said suddenly.

Everybody quickly turned to face the only 'adult' in the group, who had his dark trousers soaked as he stepped into the river, plucking up something small and dark, lifting it up to his face to get a closer look.

On closer inspection, Yang squinted her eyes to reveal that Qrow was holding a dark feather. The man that looked crazed not too long ago had his eyes set into a serious expression for once.

"Worse," He claimed as he twisted the wet feather in place. "A Raven."

_Louis's POV_

_I've got a feeling I know where the hell all Qrow's Aura went._ I sighed internally as I shifted my uncomfortable wrists bound by some rough rope to attempt and adjust it to a bearable position. _I swear, there was no way this is gonna go my way. Not at all._

As if on queue, boot planted itself on my face as a girl with brown hair cut down to a point where it's near non existent spat on my forehead. Her spittle oozed down my nose, causing a foul stench that spoke volumes when it comes to her hygiene, invaded my nose, as well as an unscratchable itch trailing down my nose.

"Doesn't look so tough to me." Vernal sneered as she further rubbed the sole of her boot down my face, twisting her foot in place, going as far as my cheek before stopping completely.

"Vernal, if you could please remove your foot off of my daughter's teammate, that would be much appreciated."

"But Ra-"

"Vernal." Raven commanded unflinchingly. "That is not how you should treat honored guests."

She stared at me with pure disgust, scrunching up her features into a pinched expression, gazing down at me both literally and morally as she belittled me.

Belittled? That's an understatement. She resented me, saw me as someone so far under her I might as well had been a discarded condom.

I smirked upwards, but kept my eyes unrelenting, knowing she couldn't really do anything about it.

After a quick kick to the face which I gladly took head on in preference of her '_kind'_ hospitality, she finally spun around to approach the exit of the tent, but not before giving me one last baleful glare.

"I apologize for her actions." Raven came to set down 2 white porcelain cups with blue accented vine like patterns down on the table, before pouring some dark, saturated tea from the pot of the same set a perfect inch or two away from the brim. "She could be a little... _jealous_ sometimes."

I didn't reply, my smirk vanishing the moment Vernal exited the tent, my mouth turning back into the thin line that it was the moment she had found me while my eyes hardened into a steely glare. Throughout the whole capture, I remained silent, even as her people pushed me around like I was a circus attraction the moment I walked through the gates which was accompanied by wooden piked walls which encompassed the whole camp.

Raven dabbed a wet towel over my face as she held my chin in one hand, and once done, twisted my face to the side, cleaning up the trail of mud, gravel and spittle that was left there by her second-in-command. All while she observed me like I was a prized trophy.

"You should smile more often." Raven claimed as she stood up. "That frown will cause wrinkles on your face when you get older."

"That's rich coming from you."

"Oh?" The dark haired woman eyed me curiously with a hint of amusement in her voice. "This is my first time hearing your voice and that is what you say to me?"

"Did you expect me to thank you?" I seethed, my tone so thick with scorn it might as well have been nails being dragged down a chalkboard. "Because the way I see it, you kidnapped me in the middle of a nice, relaxing shower."

"Hm... heha... HAHAHAHA!" Raven bent over, actually catching me off guard with the uncharacteristic raucous laughter that exited her mouth, the first time actually seeing her smile or laugh in any way other than the STRQ picture Qrow had kept in his pocket.

She looked livelier this way.

_Definitely not a side of her I expected to be seeing in like... ever._

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, you just remind me a lot about my little brother, both in your deep voice, with the only difference is his being raspy and throaty, and your smartass attitude." She wiped a tear from her eye as she finally composed herself. "Yes, I kidnapped you." She admitted freely. "Doesn't that speak volumes of just how special you are?"

Once again, I just kept silent as I locked my eyes with hers.

...

...

Her mouth was slowly set into a familiar frown, her once smiling face slowly turning into a hardened glare as the Raven Brawnwen knelt down, and sipped her tea.

"I thought this was gonna be easy." She stated. Her voice was flat now, no longer was it as 'friendly' as it was. Then again, it was as 'friendly' as Raven Brawnwen was gonna get. "It'd worked for the other men. Guess it doesn't apply to someone who's been around my daughter for too long."

She took a good, long blow at her tea before taking a longer sip and then setting it down on the wooden table.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?"

_The Spring Maiden, Yang's Mom who abandoned her ever since she was a child, the Boogeyman of Mistral, leading a tribe of bandits to destroy any small villages that are nearby. _

_And for someone that, no matter how they play by the rule of the jungle where strength rules all, actually had a fear of not being atop of the food chain. A coward that ran away from her responsibilities and gave up. _

_With that edge and Semblance? Basically a bootleg Vergil. _I wanted to say so bad, right in her face, but that'll either earn me a swift death or something worse.

"Alright," I said after what seemed like a full minute has passed as I cupped the tea with both hands. "I'll play your game. What do you want?"

"Oh, so now you want to negotiate?" Raven's small smile was nothing short of bemused. "Even though you're obviously in no position to?"

"Well I doubt you'd let me go that easily, might as well get something in return for something as measly as a chance of getting out of here alive, am I right?" I paused purposefully as I sipped her tea, with hopes that it calms my nerves to think straight.

_Yang, Ruby, Blake and the others must be worried sick. They would've noticed my lengthened absence right about now, probably gone down the river to check it out too. _

Heavily roasted, if the taste was anything to go by, a heavenly brew for a no-so-heavenly crew.

"Looks like I misjudged you." She mused, drinking her tea again before continuing. "You are like us after all."

"Now you're just being nasty." I rolled my eyes.

"No, you choose survival over doing something stupid like fight back." The elder of the two Brawnwen's pointed out.

Not really, I just don't have Requiem with me right now.

"So, I scratch your back you scratch mine, as the old saying goes." I said, setting the porcelain cup down. "What do you want?" I repeated.

"You're acting like your opinion matters." She smirked. "Either way, I'll get what I want. I always do."

"Really?" I smirked smugly, an expression change that had Raven's eyes widening for a fraction of a second. "I doubt you're here for information of Yang's well being, but I'll give that to you in exchange of my freedom. Maybe even Qrow's. That'll cost extra, by the way."

"Oh, information and attitude." She closed her eyes in dead calmness, her tone telling me that she was to some point, impressed. "Definitely was not expecting this level of snark from someone who saved Beacon."

So she does read the news sometime.

"Well, if you insist." Raven nodded, her smile growing wider with each passing second. "Never thought things would go my way for once."

As she stood up, her armour came off with a loud clatters as she took them off layer by layer, revealing a black tank top underneath. She slowly slipped off her gloves that clung onto her muscular arms like socks to a feet, letting them drop to the floor with nothing but a soft 'thump'.

Her figure was muscular and lean, similar to Yang's right after a good workout or sparring session. Her tank top clung onto her toned abs so tight it might as well have been spandex.

Her tank top rapidly became a crop top.

_Wait what?_

"As to what I want..." She inserted both hands underneath her shirt while her body swayed from side to side to get rid of it, before giving up entirely and basically ripping it off to reveal her dark, bra with frilly patterns on it. Her dark, feathery skirt immediately followed afterwards as it dropped to her feet in a dark, as if the tank top was the belt that kept it together.

She was clad in nothing but her underwear, the revealing and daring selection of lingerie telling me that this was not the first time she'd seduced a man not counting Tai Yang. Nor was it gonna be the last.

I tore my gaze from her bare form, and for the first time since entering the camp my face changed to something completely different from the spectrum of hate I had towards Yang's mom. All of it was washed away as all alarms were raised in my head, and I could only project my thoughts at the moment into 3 words.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"I want..." She slowly crawled on all fours, climbing over the wooden table before hovering over me, placing a finger to tilt my head upwards as I scampered with my back against the leather walls of the tent, struggling to find any purchase. "Your seed."

"EH!?"

Her mouth engulfed mine.

**A/N**

**Welp, looks like I'm fucked. Literally.**

**Again thank you guys so much for the support, and please, please stay at home, or if you want to go out, do the required precautions and bring a hand sanitizer with a mask on you. It won't do if you guys don't see the end of this fic now right?**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Twitch: Pretty sure she could just portal out of there.**

**The Soldier of No Sorrow: Thank you for Fav'in and Following! I guess most people are rooting for that.**

**Shirosaki Kizuro: I wish I could lad, but even with this one week delay due to it some people unfollowed and unfav'd right after there was no updates on the one week mark. Welp, their loss.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Jesus, did you just made a fanfic of my fanfic?**

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Flaws are there, now that I went back to look at it, but they were minor enough. Thanks for your help. Also, like I said, don't exhaust your funds if you can't really do it, but I'll be sure to let you know if you could help in the ways you listed, save the last one because I have that one nailed down. Couldn't have written this story without it.**

**Damien the Storm Caller: First of all, seeing on how you just Fav'd Follow'd, did you just finish my fic in one go? Wow, can't believe I reignited someone's passion. Uhm, okay. I... don't really know what to say about it being 'Done Right'? Cuz I do use OC's to alter the flow of the fic and my follows and fav's are... pretty fluctuative tbh, but thank you if you feel that way, I'm flattered. About the youtube video though, feel free to make content and do as your heart desires, but I feel it would be fair if you show me the stuff before you post it, that way I can see it first before it goes live. Backlash and confidence being destroyed is a common thing in the creative industry, just gotta plow through it somehow. Noted on the couple.**

**DankAnon: Hol' up on that BakedAlaska order bruh, it's in progress I promise! I shall look forward to your support once it's up!**

**paradox0.5white: Technically an illusion based semblance. I'll keep that in mind, thought I'm not sure who would have it yet. As Pyrrha said, a Semblance reflects on the person, you could tell their character just by their Semblance alone.**


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N**

**I deeply apologize for the suuuper late delay on this chapter. I always keep my chapters within a 2 week mark at most, even on the busiest days of X mas last year, but because of this WFH stuff, apparently some asshole clients took this chance to exploit us as if we were working as freelancers that they personally pay OT (Which they don't btw). 8 to 5 suddenly became 8 to 11 in their book (No pun intended), and even forcing their orders into weekends at times, squeezing the creative juices out of me to even produce a decent sentence off of this fic.**

**Other than that, the internet has been super slow due to heavy traffic of other people working from home lately, whether it'd be mobile data or Wi fi. Thus, resulting in me having to rewrite this fic over and over for about 4 times since it never saves and I do it directly in FF which, if you don't know, needs internet to save.**

**To add even more salt to the wound, my grandmother had just passed as well within last week, resulting in my aunt blaming herself if she was the one who caused it, since she was forced to go out to get groceries for her kids to eat, and my mother constantly blaming pretty much the whole family that we didn't pray hard enough, seeing as how we have so much 'free time' to 'Do hobbies' (This and basically self-improvement/exploration) so you can pretty much tell how difficult it had been for me to even get a proper paragraph out in the past weeks without getting interrupted every 10 minutes or so.**

**Yeah... joy.**

**Something tells me there won't be any dancing African dudes there with Astronomia playing in the background.**

**Anyways, I'm just making those tags I put on this fic became more and more misleading with this AN huh? Wherever you are located, I hope that this quarantine or self-isolation hasn't been too bad on your ends, and to make up for the delay, here's about... twice the length of an average chapter at about... 10k ish words. (1 Average chapter being between 5-7k) Some peeps left the fic after it didn't update for 2 weeks, which I once again apologize for.**

**Yep, you didn't read that wrong. Somehow, through divine intervention, I did this in about... 3 days and little to no sleep on the weekends plus Monday. I hope it came out at least half decent. Take your time to read this mega chapter, and help flatten the curve by, as Samuel L Jackson puts it, staying the f*ck at home, and I'm sorry I couldn't make it longer to occupy more of your time. Hope you get something to counter your boredom. Probably write a long ass review to kill time and help me kill my time by reading it. Hope that helps.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, you're saying mom has him."

"Yup." Qrow agreed with a half-assed nod, not once turning back as he used Harbinger as a makeshift machete to plow through thorny bushes and in some cases, small trees, hacking a clear path for the group to thread on.

Meanwhile, the group of teenagers arranged themselves behind him in a single file, with Kevin giving the seemingly hollow vessel of Penny in a piggyback ride with his large frame directly in the middle, being the divider between genders directly behind Blake.

For obvious reasons.

"And mom is somewhere in this area." Yang raised a brow.

"Your mom kidnapped Louis?" Blake asked over her shoulder.

"Yep." Qrow resounded again, answering both questions in one go.

"So you knew about her whereabouts this entire time."

"Yep."

She grit her teeth and her shoulders shook. "Why didn't you just tell me she was in Mistral back at Beacon?"

"Because you would've gone and searched for her. Alone." The unkempt man added when his blonde niece made to open her mouth.

"You know me so well." She grumbled under her breath. "Still, I have the right to know. You'd knew I was searching for answers ever since you saved me and Ruby from that abandoned house all those years ago."

"And remembered what happened that time? You nearly got both yourself and Ruby killed." Her uncle scoffed.

"Yang...?" Ruby asked in a small voice without looking back. It went ignored.

"I'm not about to let history repeat itself. Your mother left you, Tai, and me." Qrow accentuated his point by hovering a lazy finger towards her then the clouds above him, before finally settling on himself. "What do you even hope to achieve by approaching her?"

"What? Afraid I can't take care of myself?" She countered, clearly offended if her tone was anything to go by. Qrow may have still threaded onward without a care in the world, but the slight tenseness in his shoulders told Ruby that he knew Yang's eyes were burning crimson directly behind him. "I can fight my way out if things go south!"

"And that," He halted abruptly in his tracks, causing Ruby to emit a startled yelp as she planted her face onto her uncle's back, resulting in her grabbing her nose with both hands. "Is exactly the problem."

"What...?"

"You act like you could solve everything with these." He spun around and raised both fists to chest level, with one still grabbing onto Harbinger's handle, to further emphasize his point.

Blake and Kevin had to duck out of their way from being beheaded, while Ruby merely bent her knees, and for once she had her lack of growth spurts to thank, for had she been even a foot taller, the drunken swordsman would've sent her back down by half a head.

Despite the glares the trio was giving him from near-instant decapitation, they dared not interfere with the conversation of what must've been two of the strongest members they had at the moment.

Derrick and Dwiki glanced at each other nervously, backing off by a few paces in case things got messy.

"Guess what firecracker? You can't. Say I let you through. Say I give you the information of her whereabouts and you meet her. Say you find her camp and get through the gates without a problem by telling her goons that she's your mom. Then what?" Qrow flung his hands to the side, instantly splitting a tree trunk not 5 meters away in half.

Ruby visibly winced.

"What were you gonna do huh? You're not gonna sit down and drink some tea to have a peaceful mother and daughter chat." He swiped his free hand that cut through the air. "If the Ice Queen's sister was still here and tagged along, you might as well hand her in to some White Fang goons to be toyed with." Qrow spat as he glared intensely into unyielding crimson eyes. "The first thing she'd do is demand the SDC for ransom." He sneered. "And that is if the brutes from the tribe don't roughen her up first for further 'convincing'. No offense." He added as his eyes flicked to Blake for a split second.

"None taken." The cat faunus replied dryly, but she didn't particularly disagree.

_Yang's POV_

"I..." Her voice died in her throat and resulted in nearly snapping her tongue in half as her teeth gnashed against each other.

She'd replayed this situation over and over again in her head. Yet now that it had come to it... Why was she left speechless?

"Look," Qrow shook his head and rubbed the space between his eyes. "I know you're angry. I was too. Still am." He sighed, jabbing the tip of his greatsword into the soil before placing a hand carefully atop of her hair. "If it were that simple, Tai would've stopped her ages ago and you'd never had to see her leave." He chuckled lightly. "You can't just go in there and pummel her face into a pulp like you do with everything."

"Ugh."

Yang let out several long breaths to calm her nerves and closed her eyes.

Her uncle took that chance to drag her head into his chest, which turned out to be the right move when she didn't resist and instead leaned in, heaving a heavy sigh as she visibly tried hard not to link her own arms behind his back.

When Yang's lids fluttered back open, it was back to it's old, lilac hue.

"It's not fair..." Her muffled voice remained audible despite being smothered by Qrow's clothing.

"Life's not fair firecracker." He chuckled, ruffling the top of her head. "As much of a thorn to the side she is, you can't just beat it into your mother."

As much as she'd hate to admit it, Qrow was right.

"I won't-"

"Literally."

...

"What?" Her shoulders stiffened, then her eyes snapped wide open, and her head slowly moved upwards to meet the Pro Huntsman's.

"You can't beat some sense into her... literally. The difference in strength between you and her are exceptional. You may be the strongest fighter in your team by far," He shot Ruby a cheeky grin. "And maybe you're the strongest in your current batch if you don't take that Nikos kid into account, who knows? But against Raven? Keep dreaming." Qrow glanced down with a shit eating grin, the height difference of a foot or two making Yang look younger than she should be, and her newly formed pout wasn't helping.

"You can't even beat Tai in a spar, and even then he was holding back so he wouldn't hurt you. _Any_ of you." His red pupils flicked to Ruby for a split second, who echoed Yang with an even heavier sulk forming on her face. "We're talking to the person who shacked up with him." Yang heard somone audibly retch. If she'd had to take a guess, it was Ruby imagining dad kissing someone who's not Summer. Had she not been bamboozled by the sudden rapid change of topics, her mind would've surely told her to do the same with her more... accurate imagination.

"Sure, she may not be mom of the year material, but she sure as hell can put up a good fight. We're talking about the person who created this li'l monster after all." He proceeded to ruffle her hair once the tension seemed to drain out of the air. "And you're expecting to beat her firecracker? Not a chance. You can't even beat me!"

Yang heard Blake snort and Ruby trying her best not to bend double laughing.

In the end, Yang couldn't help but join them with a smirk that was slowly forming on her face as she linked her hands behind her neck. "Well, who knows," She shrugged with a sigh. "If I can't beat it out of her, maybe Louis could do it for me. He did you good didn't he?"

The smirk was wiped off his face faster than Ruby could burst into rose petals on a lethal dose of sugar. "I still don't get what you see in him." His eyes roved over to Ruby, who was trying her best to blend in with a tree. Her red, fluttering cape wasn't helping. "But, if _Raven_ of all people has him, then I guess I'm about to find out."

_Louis's POV_

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Raven's back barreled onto the small wooden table, cracking it in two.

"Does the kids nowadays like it rough?" Raven flicked specs of sawdust off of her bare shoulders while a pink mark laid across her stomach in the shape of my boot, before her hungry eyes sought mine once more. "I don't even remember Tai being this feisty, and he was at his prime back then."

My face turned green as the mental image of the father of two popped into mind, tanned muscles with a muscular tattooed arm as he laid his dominance over-

I visibly retched as both hands flew to my mouth.

_Nope_

_Nope nope._

_Fuck NO!_

"No matter," Her shoulders rose and fell. "We will make the strongest warrior. With our DNA's combined, nothing can stand in the way of our offspring. Especially not _her._"

"I am NOT. Making a child with you!" I wiped the back of my arm over my mouth which was still stained wet with her saliva.

"Oh?" Her hands moved down to her toned abs, roving up and down the length of her torso as if checking for flabs.

There were none.

Her abs were sticking out of her naval like a sore thumb. Being the apex bandit of Anima, along with a well trained Huntress had kept her figure in shape throughout the years.

"Am I not good enough? Maybe the years have caught up with me. Would you prefer to impregnate Yang instead?"

"FUCK. NO! She's-"

"Not hot?" The woman offered, her hips swaying from side to side, sashaying over to the end of the tent where I was once more. If it were in any other situation, I would've deemed the brawler's love for puns were inherited from her mother's side, but my mind was in no place to have such thoughts.

My brain was swirling with thoughts of the fastest means to escape, but I could imagine Vernal guarding the main entrance like a bloodhound, ready to pounce in the tent in case things go south or ready to decapitate me if I poked my head out. Knowing her hatred for me, it wasn't too hard to imagine a psychotic smile creeping it's way up her face as her arm blades molested my innards.

Before I knew what was happening, the bare woman seemed to take advantage of my time idle to close the distance.

My other brain seemed to wander... elsewhere.

"Oh," She smirked. "Seems like I still am attractive enough to warrant this kind of an effect from you..." Her inner thighs caressed mine, a hand pinning my back to the inner walls of the tent to prevent my escape while the other roved down to feel the miniature version of it within my pants.

"Even after all these years..." She sighed, then chuckled in a way that could even be described as euphoric relief as she put me into a kabedon deadlock. Her hands gently rubbed the thin piece of clothing that separated her digits from my manhood. "So why does your lips lie of your true feelings, strong one?"

_What do you mean feelings?!_

_This is a male's natural reaction when looking at a woman's bare body, especially in YOUR assortment of lingerie!_

_And netted stockings... _My mind added.

_..._

_GODDAMMIT, I LOOKED AGAIN!_

"I'm not going to bear any children!" I repeated, twisting my head to the side when she made to engulf my lips again. It hit my cheek. "I'm not ready to do that even with the people that I like! Why the hell am I your first choice for a personal concubine anyways?! There is no reason what-so-ever for you to think of me this way!"

I felt her halt mid air, and when I finally plucked up the courage to crack open my eyelids, her lips a mere inch away from mine.

She let out a steamy breath that puffed and tickled against my neck, causing more moisture to form on the surface of my skin.

Her lips were glossy from our entanglement earlier, while her body was covered with a thin sheen of sweat from the heat trapped within.

As much as I'd hate to admit it, she wasn't wrong about being able to turn me on, even with an aged body, so are the wonders of anime moms and their youth. Obviously, I'm never gonna admit that to her face, especially not with her hands threatening to pull my pants down.

Or crush my balls.

With the spat out denial and her face set in an uncertain manner, I really hope it wasn't the latter.

I tried hard not to gawk as the thoughts betrayed me.

With the current standstill, I tried to distract myself with other thoughts.

This was wrong, all so horribly wrong.

_What the hell caused this?!_

I have the right to know the reason why.

It made no sense what-so-ever why _she_ of all people, would want _me._

She has nothing to gain from taking me into her camp, exposing both her location and... herself.

Unless what she wanted was information from me as an overseer for much-needed knowledge to add on to her arsenal of Maiden powers.

Which made no sense since she doesn't know I was one... unless either Qrow or Yang told her, which was a big no.

What did I even do to elicit... _this_ sort of a reaction off of her.

Raven never seemed to display any sort of emotion of wanting... _anything_ at all really, but to survive in canon, having hid her intentions from both the audience and the people who know her well enough to the point where it would even make Ren look like an amateur.

She may have been a horrible mom to Yang, but when Yang had approached her personally, she seemed to have all but forgotten what she sought out to do in the first place, with the then missing Ruby being a top priority in the blonde brawler's mind.

Never had we got a reason why she had left Yang, or if she really had talked to Tai right after the events at Haven. Or why she didn't agree to talk things out with Yang and settle it right then and there.

"Raven." I said cautiously as I gently grasped her wrist that was dangerously close to crushing my man nuts, which was still possible even with me resisting her with all the strength I could conjure. Naturally crimson eyes gazed longingly into mine, and I can see a twinge of regret in it.

After what seemed like forever, slowly, she took a step back.

Then another.

Eventually, when I felt the pressure lessen more and more and she was a good few feet away, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

She turned around to face the other side of her tent, crossing her arms over her dark lingerie-clad breasts while she rubbed her shoulders, as if a sudden chill just brewed past her.

"Nobody had ever declined me before..." She muttered close to a soft whisper. "Especially not the strong men I offered myself to for the sake of her protection..."

_Strong men?_

_Offered?_

_Yang...?!_

"Why do you decline your reward?"

_Reward...?_

"Look, just tell me why I'm here, and I'll be on my wa-"

"Raven."

Vernal used her forearm to disclose the tarp over her head, and stepped into the tent without a care in the world.

She didn't seem bothered over her leader's lack of clothing.

Instead, she seemed more surprised by the fact that we were still wearing anything at all, if the way her eyes widened and flicked to my dressed state were anything to go by.

She eyed me warily, her face scrunching up in disgust as she looked like she was about to desecrate me for not taking up her leader's '_generous'_ offer.

"What is it Vernal?" Raven asked, regaining the composure of her stoical posture once more, though the lack of the clothing and the Grimm mask she wore made all the difference for her intimidation factor.

"We have... visitors."

My head snapped to her direction so fast I caught whiplash.

Oh no...

_Ruby and the others had arrived already? _

If they find us in such a state, there would be no talking our way out.

"Visitors... huh?" Crimson eyes flicked to meet my dark eyes before locking with her second in command. "Who are they?"

"I don't know, there's this woman with long, dark hair and amber eyes."

Chills traveled down the length of my spine, making the hair on the back of my neck stand upright.

_Blake!_

_By the gods, there was no way she would take this scene in for anything else. I already broke her heart once! Yang won't forgive me if I do it again! If she sees this, there was no coming back!_

_ Gah! _I grabbed my head as I sought out answers. _What should I do?!_

_...What could I do?_

_There was no way out other than the main entrance, and it looks like Raven was comfortable enough to streak out there to welcome her daughter if needs be!_

_Shit..._

_Guess there's no choice but to face the music-_

"... And a tall, mustached man with a yellow lined tailcoat..."

_... And if Yang's gonna beat me in for breaking Ruby's heart because of this, then so be it. My Aura should hold up to her punc-_

Wait a minute...

_... That didn't quite fit the description of Qrow._

Or anyone else for that matter.

"I... see." Raven hummed as she put a hand onto her chin. She seemed to realize it wasn't whom she expected as well.

_Mustached..._

_Yellow lined..._

_Amber eyes..._

_Dark hair...?_

_..._

Something clicked in my head.

_Fuck._

"Should we let them through?" The second in command asked.

"Did they tell you what they wanted?" The dark-haired woman questioned back as she thought of a way to possibly end this peacefully.

"No." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "They just said they wanted to see you, they called you by nam-"

"It's the same people who attacked Beacon. Salem's men."

Both Vernal's and Raven's heads snapped in my direction, and I had to gulp down the urge to flinch under their gazes.

"So?" Vernal scoffed after she recovered from the shock of hearing me speak. "What does that have to do with us?"

"They're dangerous, powerful elites that won't hesitate to destroy the tribe if needs be. Even with the two of em, they're more than capable in handling an army of bandits."

"Suddenly you care what happens to us?" Vernal's eyes narrowed as she stepped in front of Raven, deploying her arm blades as she took a defensive stance.

"Hey, did you forget I was in this tent with you?" I pointed out. "You dragged me here, I just gave you information that could save both you and your camp's asses. You should be thanking me."

"Than-! Oh, I see." The short-haired woman's frown slowly fizzled out as the edge of her lips tugged up into a sly smirk. "They're here for you, aren't they?"

... What?

"Hah! You flinched." Vernal turned to look over her shoulder. "Raven, just get rid of this sperm donor and find a new one. There are plenty of stronger men around who are more than pleased to even feast their eyes on you."

I bit back the urge to argue.

Vernal accusingly pointed in my direction. "You ungrateful bastard! Bringing a catastrophe to the tribe even when we took you under our protection! This is unforgivable!"

If I say that they were here to unlock the vault at Haven and needed Raven as the key, they would never let me out of her sights. The information of who the Spring Maiden is is too sensitive to unveil, with possibly the only two in front of me being the only people of Remnant knowing who it is. She could even go as far as to keep me as her personal pet in the Brawnwen camp for, god forbid, life.

However... if I say that I was indeed what they were looking for, Raven, along with the not-so-subtle persuasion of Vernal, wouldn't hesitate to hand me over, and I'll get burnt to a crisp on the spot. After all, the safety of the tribe comes first, and it'll take time to relocate.

_Death by snu snu or get burnt on a stake like a witch during medieval times._

_..._

_Yeaaaah, not a lot of great options there. _

"How about you tell me what you want from me, since I believe you kidnapped me for a good enough reason seeing I'm not dead yet, and I'll tell you what they might possibly want." I offered as I spread my arms out wide. "Sounds like a win-win solution to me."

"Or we can go in front of the tent with you in tow, and if they don't know who you are, they'll leave you be and we'll decide what to do with you afterwards." The short-haired woman sneered. "However, if you _are_ what they're looking for, they'll be the ones to decide what happens to you, and the tribe remains out of harm's way, as it should be."

"In any normal circumstances, I'd agree with you a hundred percent." I nodded along. "But if you hadn't watched the news lately, which I take it you, who look like you have Grimm feces for half a brain don't,"

"What's feces?"

"My point exactly," I continued and ignored the questioning look Vernal was sending me. "They think me dead."

"Then let them confirm that you're not." She shrugged nonchalantly and settled with a hand to her hip. "That way, they get the pleasure to kill you all over again. We could even charge them extra, claiming we did the bounty hunting and hard work ourselves."

Damn this bitch is a tough nut to crack.

I personally never got a good grasp of Vernal's personality. What I knew about her stems at the fact that Raven definitely raised her like one of her own instead of Yang. Seeing how hard-headed and untrusting she grew up to be, I had to thank the Brother Gods that Tai was the one that raised the blonde brawler instead.

Despite having eerily common traits, such as the stubbornness when she set her mind on something or when it came down to protecting Ruby, the tendency to act haphazardly and irrationally, and add the fact that she may be easy to burst, but at least she was more willing to listen if it wasn't something she was proficient at.

Her hardheadedness came from the determination to do something right or the want to help, not the desire to prove someone wrong so badly she's willing to pester and bask in a pool of petty excuses and sell her soul to the devil for it.

_Dammit, looks like I'll have to give out some cards to draw some._

"If you give me up, they'll kill you two, and possibly set the camp ablaze for the information they think you squeezed out of me. They won't leave any survivors behind."

"And what information would that be?" Vernal scoffed. "If you were that famous we would've heard of you already. Nothing gets past us, you're not worth shit."

Looks like we're gonna have the Maiden fight faster than anticipated.

"Oh really?" I said in a reassuringly mocking tone. "Perhaps they're not searching for me and instead are here for something within the camp. Something you two personally know about and want to keep under wraps for as long as possible."

Their eyes narrowed into near dangerous slits.

"After all, they did target _your_ camp instead of any of the other small villages around here." I shrugged back. "The Brawnwen name is quite infamous throughout Remnant won't you agree?" Vernal growled under her breath and squared her feet. "Add to the fact that they requested you, Raven Brawnwen, by name, you'd think they would've brought the whole party here instead of just a pair if they think they couldn't handle themselves don't you think?"

"They think they could ever hope to defeat us?!" Vernal shouted in rebellion. "We outnumber them, and we have-"

"Vernal." Raven warned.

She bit back her tongue.

"Oh?" I grinned. "Please do continue. You seem to have a mouth that could do more than just sucking dicks."

"Shut your mouth!"

"You're right." I pushed on, savoring the look Vernal was giving me that just screamed she was gonna get heavily punished after this whole ordeal was over. "I shouldn't be talking to a fair _Maiden_ like that."

I ducked without effort as the arm blades scythed through the air.

"Nice try."

"Wha-!"

The top of my head met her chin, launching Vernal and sending her crashing into some furniture on the other side of the tent.

"But I've sparred against faster." I cracked the kinks in my neck. "And stronger."

"Why you-!" She spat out some blood from nearly biting her tongue off. "I'm going to-"

"What do you know about the Maidens?" Raven cut off, her now cold gaze seemingly glared into my dark pupils.

"Oh, you know, maidens are women that are located in shrines, most of the time a virgin, are very young and beautiful-"

A red blade's tip tickled the Aura on my throat.

"Try again." Raven said, somehow seizing her signature katana in the time it took me to form a sentence.

"You're not gonna do that." I smirked confidently. "You need me."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I would've been dead seconds ago."

She was caught wet handed, if the way she bared her teeth were any indication.

"Don't push your luck."

"And I thought you were based on a raven, not a praying mantis. Why don't you eat my head while you're at it?"

"I would've if you'd let me."

I froze as I looked for any signs to indicate her screwed up sense of humor. When there were none, the cogs in my head turned as I processed what she said.

"Not that hea- Ugh, nevermind."

"You have my attention." Raven's impatient frown was growing grimmer with each every passing moment, and her second in command's death glare wasn't helping. "Who are you?"

"Me?" I scoffed. "I'm your daughter's teammate, as well as her friend. Speaking of which..." I glanced at what could be considered a 'door' to a tent. "She should be on the way here by now."

Raven's eyes widened.

"Let them through."

"What?!" Vernal's eyes echoed Raven's as she looked at her leader incredulously. "Raven, clearly this guy is manipula-"

"Let. Them. Through."

Vernal took a second to look at her leader once more, before nodding slightly and exiting the tent.

"Why is my daughter here?!" She demanded, the tip of the blade being further jabbed into my Aura, threatening to break it. "You... you caused the fall of Beacon didn't you?! Are you with those outside?!"

"Uhh... I thought that was obvious _before_ you tried to rape me."

"Answer me!"

_I just did..._

"If your question is if I'd brought Yang here for the purpose of handing her over, though I don't get why they would want her, the preferable of the two being Ruby no offense, or putting her in harm's way, then the answer to that is no." I raised a calm brow at her panicked look even when I basically gushed that whole sentence out to get the point across. "She's my teammate, and I wouldn't have saved her during the Fall or the train otherwise."

_I thought she wasn't supposed to care for Yang._

"Then why is she here?!"

"We were here in pursuit of Leonardo Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven." I explained while her unrelenting eyes bore into mine. "We have reason to believe, that he's working with _her_, and we're here to do what any Huntsman or Huntress would. Also, Ozpin's en route and has no idea of Leo's betrayal as well, so we're sorta at a time limit here."

A few moments passed where she eyed me like a hawk, scanning the windows to my soul as if trying to seek something in them.

Her blade finally left my throat.

"Well...?" I offered as I rubbed my throat. "Do you trust me now?"

"Trust must be earned." She replied as she sheathed her sword. "So, you and the entire calvary is here as a messenger." She scoffed and brandished her sword in the air, before sheathing it with a loud clink. "What do they want?" Her patience was seemingly running thin if the way she spat out the words were any indication.

Taking into account what she did earlier was a 'kind hospitality' in the tribe's book, I did not want to know what would they even considered to be a punishment.

"They're after the Maiden's powers, to unlock the vault at Haven." I got straight to the point when the dark haired woman raised a brow at me. "They have reason to believe that she is located in this camp along with you, and that you're sheltering her under your protection."

Like hell am I going to reveal that she's standing in front of me right now.

"Seeing as how they're here, they must've already passed by Haven, since their reason to believe the maiden is here was information that were only leaked to some people, and said person you are looking to behead, is none other than Leo himself."

"Then how did they find our whereabouts?" Raven crossed her arms across her bare form and raised a brow. "We relocated ever since the Fall of Beacon, which could still be considered a recent event. There was no way Salem's forces could find us that easily."

She seemingly forgot that I wasn't supposed to know who that was.

But she did raise a good point.

"Uh..."

In canon, Qrow gave away her location, not knowing that Leo was a traitor and gave that information away freely.

_Here though? ... I'm preeeetty sure both me and Evans gave it away by throwing a small nuke in the sky._

"I guess they followed one of your men back to the camp after a raid." I improvised.

She eyed me like a hawk and then blinked owlishly.

After what seemed like minutes, she let out a heavy sigh and shook her head.

"Those imbeciles... I always tell them to clean their mess and watch their backs before they head home." She growled. "They never listen."

_Wait..._

_It actually worked...?_

"What'd you reckon we do?" I asked. "You're planning to just hand over yours- the Spring Maiden?" I managed to catch myself from slipping just in the nick of time. "They'll kill you afterwards, you do know this."

Luckily, it seemed to go unnoticed by the dark-haired woman, who put a hand on her chin and appeared deep in thought. "There's nothing else we can do. I've just given Vernal the signal to open the gates. We'll confront them and make sure that if a fight does break out, it'll be here, far away from wherever your group is right now."

"You... sorta took that option away from yourself when you kidnapped me." I deadpanned. "They should realize I'm taking too long right about now."

"But can't possibly know the location of this ca-"

"Qrow's with them."

The bluff seemed to have it's desired effect.

Raven seethed as she stared to the ceiling of her tent, but then settled on a distraught sigh.

"Things never are simple, are they? And people ask why I don't trust anybody."

"Well, seeing at how you're trusting me," I shrugged. "That's a good start, isn't it?"

"I'm not owing you extra for this."

_Owe...?_

_Extra?_

"You don't owe me anything." I held out both hands in case she tried to lunge at me.

Instead, what I got was a shocked expression and a gaping mouth. She then recomposed herself before she faced the tent. "We should probably confront them now."

"Okay but first..."

"Hm?" She eyed me curiously, who looked away and put my hand in front of my face to shield my eyes.

"You might wanna... put something..." My eyes flicked to her figure for a bit. "On."

"Oh right." Raven looked down at herself. "We were about to fuck."

"How do you say that so shamelessly while maintaining a _completely_ straight face?!"

_Cinder's POV_

"Think she's home?" Arthur asked as he marveled at the simplicity of design and architecture of the great wooden pikes that resided along the circumference of the camp in a near-even radius, wondering how they stood up sturdy with little to no damage towards the relentless assault of Grimm time and time again.

"A raven is known not to take too long to hunt." Cinder seethed, her long, dark hair blowing in the afternoon breeze while she crossed her arms impatiently. "They go out, steal objects that are to their liking, and make their way back to their nests. They never carry too much at a time."

"You know we're talking about a person who's coincidentally named after a bird right?" Arthur snorted as he held out a hand dismissively. "It doesn't mean that they'll literally take in the habits or traits of one. Unless the said person is a faunus, which is a completely different topic of conversation altogether."

She didn't reply, and instead stared as the large wooden doors creaked heavily and opened.

"Finally." She spat.

"Patience is a virtue." The tall man sneered. "Perhaps if you'd have more of it, you would've succeeded in getting the other half of the Fall Maiden."

Cinder snarled but didn't make to go for a reply as they were escorted by ten or so bandits with primitive weapons, such as axes, clubs and maces just to name a few.

Their weapons weren't the only thing primitive, however, as most were dressed with spike leather jackets and their hair was messy enough it looked like they hadn't shaved since third grade.

And that was only the ones on top, there was no telling how smelly or overgrown the jungle had grown at the bottom.

Rows and rows of bandits lined up both to their left and right, forming a makeshift wall of muscle and brute force ready to take action should the strangers that entered the camp act out of line.

"Brutes, the lot of them." Arthur scoffed. "They don't even look like they know what they're doing. That signal might've been these plebians just messing around with more Dust than they could handle."

"No," The femme fatale's eyes narrowed. "That explosion was not made by any type of Dust. There is a Maiden nearby, just as Leo had said."

"Not any type of Dust _you've_ ever encountered." The mustached man corrected. "I remember an old colleague of mine working on some compacted Dust back at Atlas."

Cinder hummed as she listened in.

"Good ol' Pietro," Arthur shook his head as if he was remembering the naivety of an innocent child. "Always was too humble for his own good. He was all for the betterment of mankind, and tried to research a way to make a stable core for his... creation." He sneered "It was deemed too dangerous by the higher ups should it fall into the wrong hands, thus he came out with an alternative."

"And what was that alternative?"

"Use his own Aura as a source of it's power."

"What?" The amber eyed woman balked. "That could-"

"Kill said person donating the Aura, yes." Arthur shrugged as if to say that his colleague had chosen his desired path. A path that would eventually result in his death. "A shame he either doesn't realize or doesn't care his little project could end him someday." He shook his head. "I wonder what her thoughts would be once she realizes that she was responsible for her father's death. Project P.E.N.N.Y if I recall."

"Penny?" Cinder's eyes widened. "Penny Polendina?!"

"That's the one." The tall man chuckled.

"But you're sure he got rid of his other research?" His associate asked for confirmation. "The one to create her core. All of it?"

"So I was told." He replied with yet another shrug. "That was a long time ago. Remember, there were 2 explosions in the sky. It could be either one or the other."

"Or none." Cinder smirked. "So there is a possibility the Fall Maiden is here as well." She replied, ignoring the eye roll the mustached man gave her.

"And how certain are you that this is _your_ Fall Maiden that did the fireworks?"

"Doesn't matter." She muttered to a near whisper. "If there is a Maiden here, whether if it'd be Fall or Spring, then they will fulfill the purpose of making me whole again. I'll drain all their powers out." She cackled softly, albeit sinisterly. "Every last drop."

"And you're just acting as if Raven Branwen would just... willingly give it to you." Her associate scoffed. "Or even come with us for that matter."

"She would."

"How could you be so sure?"

Cinder snickered with malice.

It wasn't visible before, but between them a gagged figure of a beaten child with orange gloves poked his head from between them, shuffling uncomfortably at the hundred or so eyes staring at the marching trio as they made their way deeper into the camp.

"I brought... reassurance."

_Yang's POV_

"How... often do you get to meet mom?"

"Quite." Qrow snorted. "Though if it wasn't necessary, I would like to see less of her."

"Is she... that bad of a person?" Ruby raised a brow.

"If you say it like that, I guess that makes the two of us." Her uncle chuckled, causing raised brows from the party around them. "I've... done things I'm not proud of, but what can you do when you're raised by bandits."

"Ban...dits?" Ruby squeaked.

"Your mom and I... " Qrow looked over his shoulder. "We didn't really grow up with proper... _parenting, socialization_ or _education_. The law of the jungle where the strongest thrive and the weak fall is basically the only rule surrounding us as we grew up, and we've learned to adapt to that one rule even when we don't particularly agree upon it."

"How'd a tribe of bandits... raise enough money to get their kids into Beacon?" The small reaper asked.

Everybody just stared at her.

Some even gawked.

She blinked owlishly.

A moment later, it clicked.

"Oh... Uh... What about the transcripts?"

"Forged." Qrow laughed. "Easy to get when you have the correct amount of lien."

"Wait, so I didn't have to go to Signal?!" Ruby pouted. "Why'd I waste my years away training then?!"

"I'm so... telling dad on you." Yang deadpanned.

Qrow nearly choked and tripped on the spot, but regained his stature and continued to thread forward. "You need to do it because things like Grimm could get you killed out here squirt."

"But I did just fine with Cresent Rose! And I have you, and dad, and Yang." She held up 3 fingers.

"Yeah, sure," Blake rolled her eyes. "Tell that to the dragon Grimm or the Beringel the size of a house."

"Uh... heh... hehe..." The small reaper scratched the back of her head nervously.

"You don't even have to go that far, had that _guy_." Qrow spat, refusing to pronounce his name as if it was a great curse that would befall him upon saying it. "Not made you go prone, that Griffon would've wiped your head off your shoulders."

"A-anyways..." Ruby chuckled nervously in a desperate attempt to change the topic. "That was fine because you turned out for the better Uncle Qrow!" She cheered and pumped a fist into the air. "So two negatives make a positive! Besides," She waved a hand dismissively. "It's not like anybody we know actually forged their transcripts right?"

Yang suddenly felt cold behind her as the footsteps stopped.

When she made to turn around, it was to see Blake with stiff shoulders.

"Uhh..." Ruby mumbled.

"Being in the White Fang with criminal records... I didn't have anybody... _official_ enough to give me a proper certificate." Blake admitted meekly as her eyes shied away from her teammates. "How I managed to maintain good grades towards various subjects in class stems from homeschooling back in Menagerie."

"I-I didn't- I mean- I-It's okay!" Ruby claimed quickly and rushed to her side, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "Same case with Uncle Qrow! Being in Beacon helped you resolve your problems with Weiss and you turned over a new leaf. It's all good! Good things, yep!" She smiled cheekily. "Nobody _else_ does it... heh..." She looked around. "Right?"

Dwiki held out a finger and made to open his mouth.

He got smacked in the head not a moment later.

"Not. A. Word." Kevin warned.

"Why me...?"

"Oh come on!" She flung her hands into the air. "Why do I always get left out over these kinds of things?!"

"He'll tell you in his own time when he feels comfortable enough to do it." Kevin assured, making sure to keep his name vaguely concealed. "For now, our boy needs us, so let's keep going."

The group mumbled in agreement and eventually reformed the single file, with Qrow resuming the stories of his memories back at Beacon.

"So... Yeah, we didn't really get to experience what you could say a... _normal_ childhood..." Qrow explained. "But Beacon changed that. Both Tai and Summer taught us things any normal person would, tended to us even when we were stubborn and socially awkward."

"Your mom taught me the first thing about sharing." He smiled dreamily at the fond memories. "At first, we pushed her away, but eventually, she was so insistent on helping us that we couldn't help but cave. It was difficult... but we eventually 'blended in'." He quoted the air. "Eventually, we made a complete turnaround."

"Except mom did a three-sixty and went back to the tribe." Yang spat.

Qrow frowned, but didn't comment on that fact.

"Yang..." She felt the cat faunus's hand crept up her shoulder, giving it a good squeeze.

"It's... okay Blake." Yang gave a sad smile as her hand overlapped her partner's. "I've gotten over the fact that she left us years ago."

She looked at the floor as they walked. "I just wanted to know why."

"If you need someone to talk to..."

"I know." The blonde brawler smiled. "I know."

"We're here."

Everybody halted in place to see a large wall of wooden pikes that erected from the ground that seemingly seemed to touch the canopies surrounding them, with some having dried gore and viscera of past Grimm that tried to enter.

Directly split in the center, were two scruffy and gruff men wielding clubs guarding two large wooden doors behind them.

"So... Louis is in... there?" Ruby asked meekly as she took out Cresent Rose, before having second thoughts and holstering it behind her back.

"Why'd you put it back?" Qrow raised a brow.

"Well... that _is_ Yang's mom and technically your sister isn't it Uncle Qrow?" The small leader asked, getting a slight nod for the unkempt man. "Can't you just... go in there and talk to her? I'm sure she'll understand if you say that that we'd want Louis back."

"If she really does have your little boyfriend," Qrow growled under his breath. "Then you can bet your ass she isn't going to let him go without a fight. He's her property now."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby's cheeks burned brilliantly as she pouted at her uncle.

"We can deal with that shenanigans later." Kevin rolled his eyes as a flustered Ruby swung her hands to frantically beat it into the elder man's chest. "For now, let's focus on getting our boy back."

_Shift_

"Remember what we're here for." Arthur warned while his nose twitched at the painful memory. "Her grace would not be pleased should you fail again. I would not take part in sharing the blame this time."

Before Cinder could made a remark, the group of bandits halted abruptly, causing the pair to do the same.

A large tent made from some high quality animal skin lay in front of them, a clear contrast to the smaller, deteriorated huts littering unevenly around them in seemingly random patterns.

If that message wasn't spelled clear enough to any outsiders, the woman inside disclosed the tarp over her head not a moment later.

"Raven Brawnwen." Cinder greeted as ornate armour gleamed in her eyes, long, choppy hair blowing in the gentle afternoon breeze while a mask in the shape of a Grimm was worn over her head, masking her features and by extension, the emotions that were visible on her face.

"I don't recall inviting so many guests into our home. So either I'm losing my memory, or you've all lost your minds coming in here!" She yelled.

"We've come with a proposition." Cinder started as Arthur raised a brow at her. "Time... is of the essence, so I'll make this quick. Give us the Spring Maiden or we'll kill all of you."

"And if I do have the Spring Maiden, what makes you think I'll just give her up?"

"We're here to unlock the vault at Haven containing the Relic of Knowledge, which is only accessible by a specific key-"

"I know all of this, you don't have to give me a history lesson."

"Then you know why we've come to you." The amber-eyed woman held out her hand. "Now hand her over to us. Or else..."

"Or what?" Raven's hand settled on the hilt of her blade.

Cinder's palm lit ablaze.

_Raven's POV_

"Hm, interesting." The armour clad woman scoffed. "A half maiden... But you're gonna have to do a whole lot more than that to take us down. You're vastly outnumbered."

"And you think quantity will help you this time around?" Cinder cackled menacingly. "I'm going to burn every single one of you to ashe-"

A hand grasped her wrist.

She glared at the person beside her.

"Don't think I see what you're doing here. I will not be made a fool in front of her grace again!"

That seemed to reign in Cinder's temper as the orange flame in her palm diminished.

"Look," Cinder seethed with grit teeth. "I have a better deal for you lot, unlock the vault, that's all you need to do, and we'll be on our way. You could even come with to make sure nothing happens to your little Maiden, and our mistress would even forgive you for your past rebellion against her." Cinder raised her hand and marveled at her manicured fingernails, blowing any dust that dare taint them. "A chance like this only comes once in a lifetime."

"Intriguing." Raven said. "But what's my assurance that you'll keep your end of the bargain?"

Arthur took one look towards his associate, giving her a look that spelled out 'You'd better be right.'

Cinder shoved the boy who Raven just noticed was between the two like parent and child, causing him to fall flat face first into the ground.

"You're offering... your child?" The bandit leader questioned. "I'm sorry, but what makes you think your child has any value to me?" She pointed her blade in his direction. "If you're offering him so freely, I doubt you have any emotional attachments to him."

"Salem forbid no," Arthur threw a disgusted look at Cinder's way. "That," He pointed at the messy boy who was bruised and wore tattered clothes. "Is Ozpin."

Raven's head seemed to remain locked in his direction for a few minutes as she observed him like live prey, before craning back to them.

"Or to be more specific," Cinder specified. "His next vessel."

Raven remained silent and swapped her glance towards the boy once more.

"So?" Cinder could just imagine her raising a suspicious brow which was arcing even higher behind that porcelain mask.

"So, you could do whatever you want to do with him. I'm sure you have a bone to pick after your little... debacle with some of her grace's minions." Arthur snickered. "Or perhaps you could even hand him over to her grace yourself, earning you a high seat the table."

"If this child is so valuable, why don't you hand him over to her yourselves?"

"Some things must be sacrificed in order to gain something else." The semi Maiden claimed. "You have only this one chance to make your decision. There will not be another."

Raven looked down to the gagged up boy, where he had one black eye and scratches that littered his body, along with a split lip and a nasty gash on his thigh.

She looked at the two awaiting elites.

"I need time to consi-"

"You don't have time." Arthur cut off. "The headmaster of Haven just announced tomorrow and the day after a public holiday for no apparent reason. What do you think would happen if he were to announce another out of the blue?"

"You didn't think to consult me _before_ you made rash decisions like these?" Raven balked back with a harsh bite to her tone. "I don't know how you're any different from my men."

"Ungrateful whor-!"

"Arthur." His associate snickered. "I thought you were the one who told me not to lose myself."

The Atlesian man quickly recomposed himself.

"I... apologize," He grit his teeth and glared in a way that said he wasn't sorry at all. "For acting out of place, but I will not have my intelligence insulted."

"If you're that smart, you would learn to plan things accordingly, so I don't see what you have to gain from backing me into a corner like this."

"If you think we're doing this on purpose, we're not. But since you are unaware of the current circumstances, I'll do the honor of entertaining you, even if it is just wasted breath." Cinder snorted and rolled her eyes. "It looks like we won't get past your suspicions unless we do."

"Ozpin had revealed that he had contacted Qrow." She looked down at the adolescent. "He intended for it to be a bluff, so we would let our guard down and split up, search the perimeter for any form of reinforcements..." Cinder spat out the words. "But he didn't think upon the consequences that _we_ could have taken _him_ hostage."

"But could you blame him?" Arthur chuckled darkly. "After all, he'd thought both him and Leo would be enough to deal with the two of us. Little did he know that he had switched sides."

"Mpppph..."

"Shut up!" The tip of a heel planted itself deep in the boy's side, and Raven could've sworn she heard a rib or two crack.

"MPPPPH! GRnnH..."

The piece of cloth that was gagged into his mouth tainted red.

"So?" Cinder placed a hand on her hip. "What's it gonna be?"

Raven's head took one more look at the child, then she scanned the sea of faces that were her men. Her tribe.

They were filled with fear and uncertainty.

A decision was made.

One she would regret, but one that would keep the tribe, and Yang, safe.

"I-"

"How about you two fuck off, and the whole lot of us can kick your asses all the way to the shattered moon?"

Cinder's eyes widened.

At that moment, so did Raven's.

_Louis's POV_

"I told you to stay in the tent!" Raven screamed. "Weren't you the one who said not to reveal yourself?!"

Even when the Grimm mask she wore onto her face to conceal her emotions, the fear in her voice was evident.

Fear that her tribe, the only family she'd known, would fall to ruins.

Fear that the identity of the Maiden would be revealed.

Fear... of Salem.

"Fat lot good it did for you bird brain," I scoffed and put both my hands to my hips. "You were shaking harder than a rattler equipped on a toddler."

"No..."

"Hey Glass Thot." I smirked as Cinder's eyes widened into dinner plates and took a staggering step backwards. "Missed me?"

"No."

I don't know if that was the answer to my question, but by the look on disbelief on her face said it might be both the fear or shock, along with the answer to my earlier question.

"Impossible..." Arthur's eyes widened as if he'd just seen a ghost.

Considering how much they knew, that assumption was probably very accurate.

"No." Cinder repeated. "No, no. NO! Y-you died!" She screamed, her shoulders rising and falling as she pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Jeez, I heard you the first time." I stated as I used my pinkie to clean my earlobes. "Could you get any louder?"

"Evans killed you! We saw the footage on his scroll!"

_Apparently... she could._

"As you can see," I gestured from my head all the way down to my feet. "Not quite. Evans may have fatally wounded me, and I was near death, make no mistake." I spread out both arms and pointed to my waist. "Cracked a few ribs and screwed up my heart enough to make me feel like an old man thrice my age having a cardiac arrest. Probably took off a few years, but dead?" I let my eyes rove up to the skies as I pretended to appear deep in thought. "That's a little... far fetched."

"He swore he saw the light drain out of your eyes!" Cinder snarled as she drew a palm back, which lit ablaze. "He made sure you-" She seemingly cut off and paused mid-sentence. Her shoulders shook as her throat made an almost inhumane chuckle, causing me to raise a brow towards her.

Then, a cackle tore out of her throat. She cackled so hard, it made her hack at times to gulp in huge amounts of air, and eventually made her bent double.

This time, it was Arthur's turn to look concerned. "Have you finally lost it? Could I finally ask Salem to replace you?"

"Amazing." Cinder finally settled on applauding me with soft, mocking claps. "Just a... mazing. I knew you were always smart, even if you pretend to be his lapdog, and you always did love the intimidation factor, but never had I thought you would use petty tricks like this to toy with the minds of someone you dislike."

_What...?_

_This day just couldn't get any crazier._

"Why don't you take that disguise off and reveal yourself, and I'll give you a proper cremation? That is, if you don't melt first." Cinder's glare was bone chilling. "Face me like the assassin you are..." She spat. "Neo."

* * *

**That took... forever.**

**Again, apologies are in order, I'll try to get the next one done by 2 weeks. I'll promise to get the next chap out on time. **

**If it takes longer, I'm preparing the African dudes and a huge ass coffin for my self-respect.**

**In other news, my P atreon page is finally done!**

**I think...**

**If the cover art was blurry and shit, and you want to check out the sharper version, you can check the HD version as the cover art at**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

**Delete the brackets and spaces, obviously.**

**Still working on the 'Commisions' part, since role assigning in Discord was a bit more tedious then I'd thought, but I think the donation part is ready to go!**

* * *

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Always willing to reply to those willing to comment. Do hope it goes accordingly to what u imagined.**

**paradox0.5white: Maybe, I'll have to see as to which situation it fits in. RN nobody in team IKEA + DD knows how to fight except L and E. I'll have to see if the situation fits. Thanks tho.**

**Gobert600: Hoo, looks like you predicted this one right my friend... I wonder if you'll continue doing that.**

**The Ancient Irish Viking: Uhm... *Sweats nervously* No... 2) Seeing the delay on this fic, it should have gotten out when you're juiced and ready to comment again, I cant wait to hear from you.**

**Zero sum13: Damn in the what god?**

**DankAnon: You read way too much stuff, wondering if BakedAlaska really is your favourite ship. I'm afraid the milfing will have to be put on postpone, since Cinder, who's still hot and running, is here!**

**Sacke110: Hey, glad to have you commenting, as always. Thanks for your support even if I delay stuff, hope this one didn't take too long for you. Blake's dream being interesting. That's... one way to put it. This arc is sorta about Raven... so you're gonna have to bear with me here xD. Glad you like the Pyrrha reflection, that was a bit... tedious to do since well... She died in canon.**


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N**

**Yay! I made it on time!**

**Sort of...**

**To all those who gave me the well wishes from last chapter's AN, wether it be through PM/DM's or Reviews, thank you so much! For those of you that didn't and chose to ignore the subject altogether in fear of triggering me or getting me to lash out (Which I won't btw, you guys have been such amazingly patient fans of this story), thank you for your sensitivity as well. I'm doing quite fine despite the circumstances, and though I know I passed it off as a joke, that's just my way of coping and dealing with it you know?**

**Some women like to joke about their exes small penis's to get over them, others drink to their problems, while me? I make fun of it so that it doesn't sound or feel too depressing.**

**Also the coffin dancing joke is sorta fresh and everytime I find a compilation for it it'll crack me up.**

**All in all, this week wasn't too bad hence the chapter that sorta went up on time bar a day delay. The reason for that being... I nearly finished the chapter from an entire day or so**** of writing yesterday...**

**... Then I completely forgot Oscar exists, and had to rewrite pretty much fifty to seventy percent of the whole thing.**

**Eh ehm... mistakes were made... anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Neo."

"Eh?" I blinked owlishly at the half maiden.

Her long hair remained untrimmed and silky, flowing in the wind as a gentle breeze brewed past us. She had no self-made Phantom of the Opera mask covering her left eye since well... it was still there in her eye socket. Her figure remained slim and fit, keeping the look of the same femme fatale that she was from Volume one throughout three, with the only difference in outfits being the lengthened oriental sleeves that wrapped around her limb to cover up her grimmified arm.

Unfortunately, any attraction factor of sorts was thrown out of the window, beaten to death, spat on, and buried six feet under by her eyes frantically jittering in place and the pupils itself shrinking into tiny dots, all while her smile remained manic and untamed and her shoulders that rose and fell without a clear tempo.

"Let me see your pretty little face once more..." She claimed confidently. "So that I can see your real expression as I incinerate you."

_N..eo...?_

"What's wrong?" She asked in a taunting tone. "Surprised that I figured it out so quickly?"

"N...ot really..."

"You paused!" She pointed an accusing finger my way. "That just further proves it!"

"I... see." I mused as I observed her motions in case she made to attack.

With her aggressive nature of accusing is worming its way onto my thoughts, it seemed like she could pounce on me at any given moment.

My brain was somehow, despite the dire situation, giving me the idea that I could capitalize on her confusion in my identity and could turn the tide with Yang's mom by my side.

That plan however, was quickly scraped away by the presence of the Atlesian researcher that stood directly beside her, guarding her sweet ass.

The only thing that gave me right now was that it didn't look like she'd trusted Roman or his partner at all.

_Welp, Cinder dot exe seemed to have stopped working... _I thought as even Arthur raised a questioning brow at her, all while Raven stood dead silent beside me, shoulders tense from ignoring her instructions while her fingers grasped the hilt of her katana so hard, her knuckles were turning white as snow.

A muffled groan caught my attention, but a quick glance to Oscar showed that he wasn't in any shape or form to fight, even with Ozpin taking over.

_Hold on kiddo. _

_I'll get us both out of this mess. _I thought as I locked eyes with Salem's second in command once more._ I promise._

_..._

_Guess she really isn't accepting the fact that I'm clearly standing in front of her well and alive._

"Okay," I held both hands out, hoping that either Qrow is already en route in this direction, or even better, found some of the others and decided to take them along. For now, the only thing I can do is buy time, and staring at the manic maiden, know that I had to get at least _one thing_ straight.

...

_Damnit Yang!_

"I can see where you're coming from." I said calmly as I attempted to assess her point of view. "Assuming that Neopolitan did make it off that aircraft back at Beacon, which she certainly did not and died a horrible and painful death as the plane crashed and burned," I added when Cinder looked like she was about to explode with victorious laughter and assume her theory right. "But let's say she did."

"Somehow," I continued. "Despite the blisters and burns and probably a large, metal shrapnel impaled through her already petite figure, dragged herself all the way here, to Mistral, to Raven's camp and sought a little birdie's help without passing out to blood loss first," A quick glance to Raven showed that she flinched. "In these past few months it took you come up with a next stage of a plan and travel here, she managed to recover and trained without end to exact her revenge on you for your indirect hand in the death of Roman."

Cinder, for some reason, actually looked eager for me to finish, practically shaking in place with her grin getting wider and wider.

"Say this is all true," I concluded. "Aren't we forgetting one teensy-weensy but ever so crucial, little, tiny, detail?"

Finally having a chance to respond, she asked. "And what would that b-?"

"NEO'S MUTE!" I screamed, getting the bandits around us to jump and arm themselves, pointing clubs and machetes at my direction. The woman before me didn't respond, but just in case she was just too shocked to respond, I decided to make myself crystal clear. "She doesn't talk!"

"Or you just never choose to in front of us." Cinder reinforced, refusing to give up her petty point as she stood upright and confident. "After all, Roman was the only sole person that you trust amongst us, and you probably _only_ speak to him behind the curtains to deliver confidential information, out of ear's reach." Her smile turned sinister and amused. "Maybe if I couldn't make you speak, the least I can do is make you scream as you beg for mercy!"

"Oh mother of-" I palmed my face and even considered to let her actually think that I was Neo for once. It then took me another moment to realize that it probably doesn't matter one bit because even if she does think I'm me, she still wants both of us dead.

"Okay, just tell me what you're here for." I groaned my muffled voice into my palms in a sorry attempt to gather myself. "The faster we get this over with, the faster I could leave this shithole."

Arthur raised a brow, Raven suspiciously backed off till her back hid the edge of her tent, all while Cinder's palm lit up as she aimed it in my direction.

_Welp, that answers why the queen of bandits looks to mortified.__ Cinder just revealed her identity as one of the Maidens. Maybe it was unintentional, being blinded by the sight of me, and definitely uncalled for... but that's sure to cause Raven to have second thoughts._

Cinder's eyes narrowed viciously and her remorseless smile said that she couldn't care less at the moment. The flames that licked her fingers seemed to intensify, turning bright orange, all while the long, red sleeve covering her monstrous arm twitched in anticipation. "And _why_ would I just... _tell_ you when you have no use to u-"

An explosion rocked the ground we stood on, before half of the camp was enshrouded in sawdust and smoke, causing me to cover my face with both hands from the plume of dust that was threatening to engulf my eyes, then, as the dust settled down, raised my eyebrow at who was stupid enough to break into a camp of bandits and draw the attention of a potentially deadly pack of mercenari-

"Aaaaaaah!" One of the grunts came tumbling in, knocking into Cinder off of her feet and causing her to topple over and drag her face across the ground as he bounced off her sleek back, a couple of times on the ground, before skidding to a halt at my feet in a cloud of dust.

A tooth went missing from his degraded teeth, his messy dirty blonde hair tangled and messed up and his red tee worn under his biker jacket had become a large, crumpled mess directly in the center.

A quick look to his face showed foam frothing from his mouth and pupils that rolled to the back of his skull.

_Well,_ I observed. _This scene looks somewhat familiar..._

"Louis!" Yang came charging in as she burst out from the midst of the smoke, hands raised up to chest level, eyes crimson and teeth gritted. "Are you oka-" Her voice died in her throat as she took one good look at the masked figure beside me, who dawned similar features to herself.

Her shoulder's tensed up, and then she let her hands fall slack to her sides but for a moment, before crossing it across her chest as she took a deep, sharp, and seemingly forced breath to calm her nerves. However, the hue of her eyes didn't change. "Mom."

"Yang."

A quick glance to my right showed the masked figure mimicking her daughter's actions, causing her to look like a color palette swapped mirror image, with the only difference being the elder woman's choppy hair in contrast to her daughter's free-flowing mane. Though why her shoulders were so stiff was still unclear. "You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you. Or more specifically, him." Yang added and bared her teeth, before clenching her fists once more as she stared her mother down. "Let. Him. Go."

Raven looked confused for a moment, then her head craned in my direction. "He's yours? Should I be expecting grandchildren anytime soon?"

Her cheeks flushed red, but surprisingly, she didn't flinch while her cold glare remained on the woman next to me. "Not mine," She said. "Ours."

It was only then that I noticed, she didn't come alone.

The silhouettes behind stepped out of the smoke from behind her, and the entire calvary arrived wielding their signature weapons as they grouped up in a rough circle, with Yang herself filling the gap in the front line.

"Raven." Qrow greeted as he jabbed his greatsword in her direction.

"Hello, brother." She tilted her head ever so slightly. "I see you've come to your senses and brought Yang home."

"That isn't why I'm here, _sister._" He spat in such a way that made it look like he said a forbidden word. "I believe you have something... that's ours." He then proceeded to nod in my direction. _Why is he giving me that murderous look?_ "So if you could just give him back, we'll walk."

"Shame," His twin sighed dramatically. "And here I thought you'd come to visit your family."

"Funny, I'm pretty sure you have a thing called a scroll last time I'd checked." Qrow scoffed. "And that I'd say I'd call. Had you not _kidnapped_ him, we'll be having a very different conversation right now."

"Family..." The bandit leader scoffed and assumingly rolled her eyes behind her porcelain mask. "Only come around when they need something."

"Hey Louis!" Ruby greeted cheerfully, her innocence untarnished despite the deadly weapon she wielded carefreely in front of her. "We're here to save you!"

"Yeah..." I eyed the fifty or so bandits that were closing in on them rapidly from the time the convoluted family chose to banter. "I can see that."

Even with the gargantuan scythe at the ready, it'd seemed to serve no purpose as the grunts brandished their weapons and looked like they were about to risk their lives on command.

The only reason I was making no attempt of getting in between, is that they pose no obvious threat to the huntresses in training, with the reassurance being the grunt below me being knocked out cold by a single punch.

"Yeah! So you could thank us later! Right now, we need to get you out of her-"

Silver eyes widened.

A quick look to where it was honed at showed just why.

"Grk..." A voice resounded from between the two parties as a figure rose up and patted her crimson dress from any dirt and dust. "Barbarians, the lot of them."

_Crap..._

"Cinder!" Ruby gasped and flung her weapon outwards.

"Why yes, little red," She muttered under her breath with an expression that was close to a deadpan. "It is I. How very observant of you."

"Why is _she_ here?!"

It took me a while to realize that it didn't come from our red hooded leader. My eyes roved over to a pair of fluffy cat ears that were sticking out from over Qrow's shoulder as Blake turned in my direction.

"Arthur Watts too?!" Yang growled as she just realized the two who caused Beacon to fall was right in front of her face and readied herself into a fighting stance.

_Shit..._

_The last thing we need is for a fight to break out here of all places..._

_Qrow and the rest of the group still don't know Raven is the damn Spring Maiden, and I doubt she'd break out her powers right here and now because of a little nuisance._

_Worse comes to worse, Raven will flee to Tai if she does use her powers right here and now, isolating herself from Qrow and Yang... and we'd never get the Relic of Knowledge._

_And if that happens, all hopes of even standing a chance against Salem is lost._

"Who are you?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

It took me a while to gather my thoughts to realize that the source of the question came none other than public enemy number one herself.

"... Huh?" I asked hazily.

"I do not..." Cinder's hands caught fire. "And will not, repeat myself." The flames grew larger. "Now answer the question..."

_I thought she was dead set on marking me as Neo..._

_What happened to that theory?_

I must've either spoken my curiosity aloud, or Cinder was perceptive enough to see my dazed expression to assume my thoughts, for she replied. "We are certain sure Neo never came into contact with any of the students at Beacon, and even if she did, she isn't the most... friendliest of people." Her eyes flicked towards the group for but a moment, and for a second there, my blood boiled from the thoughts of her even trying to lay her fingers on them. "So you're not her." She looked pissed to have been called out wrong. "But even if it's a one in a million, she isn't the only one born with an illusion Semblance. So,"

_Okay, at least she'd seemingly gained a bit of rationality now._ I thought as I eyed the ever so slowly peel of her lips into a snarl. _Even if it is only by a few grains of sand. _

_So, she isn't sure about my identity right now... great._

_Evans would have probably heard that entrance Yang made... if not then I'd have to make it even bigger somehow... _

Yang looked like she was about to lunge for it, or worse, get in between us. The fact that both Ruby and Blake were raising their weapons didn't help.

_I need to buy time..._

I took one glance at Kevin, who raised a brow in return as he met my eyes. I gave a subtle nod over to the side, where Oscar's body remained still the whole time, only heaving every once and a while to take a fresh breath of air through the thick bloody gag.

"Who. Are. You?!" Cinder's patience seemed to be running thinner and thinner, and if I didn't answer immediately, it'd look like she wasn't gonna have second thoughts about opening a Tony Roma's with me on the menu for Salem's little pets to eat.

The rotund man nodded back from behind the crowd, making a J with one finger, and a C with the other.

J...C-

Perfect!

With a shit-eating grin, I cheekily replied with an elderly accent. "I am Yu."

_Amber's POV_

"You think they saw the signal?"

"Maybe." Adrian replied as he looked around the foliage. "Some of them should have crossed paths by now. The faster we can get out of here and rendezvous as a full party the better though." He stared warily into the bushes a few meters behind him. "No telling how dangerous the creatures of Grimm are out here."

"I'm pretty sure they're more than capable to take care of themselves." Amber trudged through the mud and squatted down to avoid a thin branch that was obstructing their path. "They did survive the Fall of Beacon, and they're stronger and much more wary of the situation at hand now."

"True," He muttered under his breath. "But still, should you underestimate what this Queen of Grimm of yours have in store."

"I'll alter her plans to dance to our tune," The copper-skinned woman smiled. "Don't worry man, I got this."

"Yeah..." He sounded distracted. "Yeah... sure..."

A quick glance over the shoulder showed that Adrian was avoiding eye contact yet again, with bright red cheeks.

Again.

"Adrian..." She sighed as she stopped in place, causing the tall man to stiffen as the tip of his long nose barely graze against her back. "You know it's normal to be turned on by..." She gestured up and down her exposed belly. "This, right?"

"Did you completely forget that it's you within her?" Her partner raised a brow as he stared into her cyan orbs. "Come on Evans, you know I wouldn't do anything... yet..." He shuffled uncomfortably with his denim jeans.

"So are the wonders of anime girls my friend." The Fall Maiden chuckled and nodded in understanding. "Also, you being here instead of Dwiki or Derrick is the very reason I could actually sleep at night."

"You're... not..." His tongue rolled within his cheek as he searched for the correct words. "_Revolted_ that I'm ogling you?"

"Would you be revolted if I told u I've been maintaining this body by showering and defecating, running my hands through various holes?" She raised her brow. "Not to mention that there's one time in a month that I die inside and get into enough mood swings to make Louis look like an innocent toddler when he loses his temper."

"Not really..." Adrian looked away, despite the jesting nature of her statement. "But you're the only one that we know that has possession for a Semblance, so you're sort of... stuck to the role." He said honestly. "But I... I'm instead looking at you not because I must, but because... you're..."

"Hot, I get it." She laughed mirthfully as she continued walking once more. "But do keep in mind that I don't think it's disgusting or creepy. Preeeetty sure Louis and I would be doing the same thing if the boys aren't watching. Or girls." She added after a moment of thought and poked her tongue out. "Our big boy is going in a certain direction with his life soon, after all."

"And so are you," Adrian smirked, causing Amber to mirror his earlier motion and stiffen. "That girl... Emerald, was it? Do you... really think you can capture her heart and fix her ways before shit hits the fan?"

"She doesn't want to be in this mess any more then we do man." She sighed. "Neither does her silver haired partner who has tuna cans for legs." She wandered off on her thoughts. "So... if your question is if could I make a plot twist happen? Well..." She looked up at the sky. "Quite honestly, I don't know."

"Don't know...?" He asked back.

"At the end of the day, if Emerald still chooses them over me then there's absolutely nothing I can do about it."

"But you said she's loyal to Cinder... so if you could alter her loyalty to yours..."

"Women aren't that simple old friend." Amber chuckled. "You gotta nick em every now and then, give them small hints and have those... fluffy moments that make your heart flutter." She waved off as if she'd already thought of every single way how. "You can't expect a simple 'I love you' to make her come around and go 'I'm yours'."

He must've pulled a really bad womanly impression at the end there, for the edge of Adrian's lips tugged upwards.

"But you do like her... Right?"

Amber gazed towards the sky for what seemed like forever before giving a small nod.

"She's... I don't know." Amber tried to find the right words. "She's... strayed down the wrong path." She finally said after what must've been a minute or two. "Misled by a false prophet who gave her food when she's hungry. And now...she's scared senseless."

"You could always try to take the straightforward approach." He shrugged. "You'd let Lou date Ruby, and Qrow's her uncle." He said nonchalantly as he found somewhere else to stare at. "I may not know him as a character of a story, but I've been through enough drinks to know that he's got it rough. It doesn't get any more complex then that."

"Nah man," Amber chuckled. "I don't think the straightforward approach works for anybody. You saw how Dwiki did."

Adrian's myriad of expressions spoke volumes at what he thought about it. In the end, the questioning look he sent her way said 'But it's Dwiki.'

"Well, other than that, the difficulty just made it all the more challenging. And you know I couldn't refuse a good ol' challenge."

"Speaking of which, where is she right now?"

"Uhh..."

_Emerald's POV_

"Do you think he's dead?"

"I don't know yet." Emerald admitted as she poked the blunt end of her dual scythes on the slumbering man's cheek, nudging it a bit deeper each time he didn't respond.

"He's been out cold for like... almost 3 days." Her silver haired partner pointed out. "Is he still breathing?"

"Now could be our chance to kill him."

"Cinder won't be pleased." Mercury warned. "And neither would pale and grumpy."

"Grrrh..." Emerald nearly bit her tongue as she grumbled under her breath, but then made her way to the stool by the window and slammed herself down, choosing anywhere to look but at him.

She did not like the man. Not one bit.

The way he drew attention towards her just made it worse!

_She was supposed to be a thief damnit!_

Being the center of attention was never her thing, and never will it be.

As she stared out the window and calmed her raging pulse, she had to wonder.

What's taking Cinder so long?

_Louis's POV_

"You?" Cinder looked taken aback by my answer. "No, not me! You!"

"Yes, I am Yu." I said cockily as I drew her attention further away from Raven, and to some extent, the group by walking down the wooden steps and towards the side where the edge of the walls were.

"Stop playing games and answer me!" Her blazing eyes does not look pleased. "Who are you?!"

"I have just told you." I raised my brow to indicate my confusion.

"Are you deaf?" She demanded.

"No," I claimed. "Yu is blind."

A quick glance to Yang's face saw her mask cracking, as she tried her best not to bend over laughing, and Ruby directly behind her chortling. Blake shot me a part amused yet part worried look, though the way she nodded over in my direction told me she trusted what I was doing, and that I could handle it.

For that, I was grateful.

"I'm not blind!" She accused with a finger. "You're blind!"

"That is what I just said."

"You just said what?"

"I did not say what, I said you."

"That's what I'm asking you!" She screamed in a high, infuriated tone that nearly cracked her voice.

"And Yu is answering." My shoulders rose and fell as if asking 'What more do you want?'

"SILENCE!" She shouted aloud as she spun around to face the group. That was when she found an unfamiliar rotund man obstructing her path.

"You!"

"Yes?" I raised my brow, full of snark, causing her to ground her teeth as she faced me.

"No not you! Him!" Cinder pointed the finger to a completely different direction, all the way at the back where Kevin stood there silently.

"Mi?" Kevin pointed to himself.

"Yes you!"

"I am Mi."

"_He_ is Mi," I pointed out as-a-matter-of-factly. "And _I_ am Yu."

Cinder's face was as red as beetroot, she grabbed at her hair in utter dismal, ready to explode in wrath of blazing fury. "ENOUGH!"

_Ah well, it was fun while it lasted..._ I thought as I gave a swift wink at the shuffling figure of Derrick, who gave a thumbs-up back as they carried Oscar behind the shadows of the group.

Luckily, the time I brought them, along with Kevin's positioning in concealing them from both Arthur and Cinder's vision, made it all possible.

Now all I have to do is pray that Oscar doesn't make too much noise.

The air turned tense once more as Cinder gritted her teeth to see whom to burn alive first.

She didn't have a chance, immediately interrupted by the blonde brawler.

"Never had I thought you'd stoop as low as to be working with these monsters _mom_."

Like a deer caught in headlights, Arthur, once wearing a deadpanned face at our performance, now faced the party with his face set in a grim expression.

"Enough of this, we're leaving." The mustached man in question stated as he seemed to slip his hand into his yellow lined coat, reaching out for what must probably be, a weapon of sorts.

"But the Spring Maide-!"

"If she really is in this camp and cares for the safety of the tribe she'd know where to go." He rebuked as he slowly took a step back. "We don't come to her, she'll come to us. For now, we need to make it back and prepare-"

"You're not going anywhere pal." Qrow stated as-a-matter-of-factly while he aimed Harbinger in his face. The beast of a scythe had it's dual shotgun barrels out in the open from it's unique mecha shifting properties, while the huge blade rotated downwards and locked into place, ready to blast the Atlesian man square in the face. "As much as I'd hate the tribe as it is now, I'd hate to see it fall into Salem's hands even more."

"Calm." I said as I held both hands out, drawing all their attention back to me once more. "A lot of people are gonna die if a fight breaks out here."

"So what?!" Cinder spat as her sole eye lit ablaze, along with her palms. "There's just a few of you, and at worst, there'll be a couple of casualties."

"Few...?" I raised my brow as I stared at her incredulously. "Where'd you learn to count? You're clearly outnumbered."

Instead of backing away as her partner did however, she merely smirked.

In an instant, one of the grunt's tent was set ablaze.

Even with the mask on, Raven looked like she was too shocked to comprehend what happened in a mere fraction of a second, and from the silence that surrounded the camp, she wasn' the only one.

A quick glance to my group saw that most had their eyes set wide open while their jaws dropped down in horror as an eerie, orange light lit up the sides of their faces. The rest of the bandits backed off, slowly aiming their weapons towards her, yet none of them pulled the trigger.

The poor lad that was within the tent went out with his hands flailing around him, screaming as his skin blistered red, dropping to the floor and rolling on the dirt to put out the fire around him.

"What have you done?!" Raven shrieked in utter disbelief as she attempted to rush towards the burning man to put him out, but was stopped by a jet stream of fire that shot her way, nearly setting her own leather tent ablaze had it not missed.

"Join us," Cinder shouted loud enough to take her voice throughout the entire camp. "And we'll make sure both my mistress and any Grimm out there leave your people alone for good. Stand against us however..." Golden eyes lit up in glee as she held out a blazing palm.

"NO!" The tribe leader held her hand out.

A vortex of flames shot out and wreathed the already screaming figure that was covered with second and third-degree burns that were continuously eating away at his skin.

"And this," Cinder cackled aloud as she imagined the look of horror that could be going on behind the Grimm mask that she wore. "This is what happens."

"Hm... quite an ultimatum for someone who couldn't accomplish her own goals without shoving a threat down anyone's throat."

Cinder's eyes widened, and tilted her neck slightly to get a vision of the figure who... wasn't where he was supposed to be. Her head snapped so fast into the direction where she was spewing her inferno at that she might've caught whiplash.

"Why don't we take this outside?"

A thin layer of charred skin flaked off my hands and withered onto the floor, but my grip remained tight on her wrist, refusing to let go. I gazed into blazing eyes with a glare that could kill a Goliath should I want it, and even if she's steadily increasing the temperature, I wasn't going to relent anytime soon.

"Do you actually think you can win?" Cinder's eyes almost bulged out of its sockets as she cackled away. "You're facing a Maiden."

"Maybe not." I shrugged nonchalantly as I nodded over to Raven, who rushed to aid the injured man. "But hey, if your arm could break, I wonder what else could."

_Amber's POV_

"If you could redeem Emerald, then what about Cinder herself?" Adrian offered.

"Cinder's a bit of a stretch," She chuckled under her breath. "She's a little on the side of crazy and her goal has always been ultimate power. But Emerald is our age and only managed to recently stray from the path pre Beacon."

"That's too bad."

"You can't save everyone." Amber shrugged. "Anyway, so most possibly, Emerald is gonna change her mind with a bit of persuadi-"

_BOOM_

"What... was that?" Adrian spun around at what sounded like a large bomb that went off and shook the ground. It was followed up with a large pillar of orange flame that shot towards the heavens.

"I thought I heard something earlier, directly right after I set my signal off too." Amber facepalmed and groaned into her hands.

"What do you mean?"

"What I''m trying to say is," The Fall maiden sighed as she peeked through her palm. "Louis started the party without us."

* * *

**A/N**

**Insufficient sleep, meh meh, yadda yadda the usuals. Again thanks for the well wishes.**

**I know that quarantine is extended for some of you, since I'm one of them, but infection rates has been... declining as of now. It's bound to glaze over what's hopefully, 3 or so months, and I hope that you guys stay safe!**

* * *

**Reviewer Session**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Thanks for the condolences :), yeah even if it sucks, it's sad to say that it's what keeps me running. Without something stable I probably wouldn't do be doing FF in the first place. Also what I meant about the cover art is it's crisper and more zoomed in on my if you want to see the logo's and silhouettesS better there.**

**Supernatural9000: Yeah well... can't blame her.**

**Gabe2000: So it seems. **

**Vendre: I really hope so too. Seeing how you recently followed, dayum ur a fast reader. Also why does everybody always expect a harem?**

**Guest: No, no he doesn't.**

**DankAnon: You are correct. Also, FF7? Now we get to see Aerith die again, in HD! At least I know you have yourself occupied at this dang Pandemic, I don't have a PS4 myself so I can't say xD. Then again if I do have 1 I won't be able to play it due to damn work eating my ass.**

**Sacke110: Thanks as usual! Your presence here improves my mood already. Qrow always strikes me as those who are more honest, while Tai Yang (Ruby and Yang's dad) always seem to protect them from the outside world. Yes, Penny using her Dad's Aura to be re made is canon. Mega Dust/ Star Dust however, is not. Uhm... hope we get to that one soon! Also, yes this is Raven's arc, but fret not, I'll try to make it swift xD.**


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N**

**Mega chapter 2.0 due to... well... work. Again. Just another lengthened chapter done in a few sleep-deprived nights, but prefer to give it my all instead of keeping the update time consistent at 2 weeks, and writing it half assed while being half asleep most of the time with the after work fatigue, and then making you guys read something that'll look like I'm trying to brainstorm a name for Elon Musk's second child.**

**So pardon the few mistakes if there are any, and the one week and a day delay. Again. Due to work being... well... work. It extended to the bloody weekends too, just for your information. Mom got sick as well during this time period, she's fine so far tho, nothing Corona related. Back to work starts June 1st, hopefully shit gets back to normal by then. Nuff said.**

**Man, sometimes I come back to this with a blank page and an even blanker mind and think... How do I do this again?**

**Anyway, please leave a review to tell me if you'd prefer a PSA chapter on the day the chapter is supposed to drop (2 week) but won't due to stuff.**

**I know some people like to do that, but I don't. It'll alert my followers via email and then they come to the chapter to see... that there isn't any. Let me know what you think though.**

**Almost 100k views on this fic, will probably break it after this chapter! You guys are awesome and thank you so much!**

**If you hadn't gotten the news yet, P atreon page is up and running btw! So feel free to drop by and look at the more HD and close up version of the cover art! **

**That's ****P atreon . com(/)R26**

**Also, I think I'll hold off the commissions for now, for reasons above. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Amber's POV_

"Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!" The maiden's body soared high up into the sky, hovering directly below where the lowest clouds hung by.

The chilly solidification of mist lazily drifted past her cheek, her face unhelpfully supplying a tingling sensation that she could not bother to scratch at the moment, which was further emphasized by the unpleasant twisting of her gut, created by the sheer disastrous situation at hand.

Her head desperately twisted from side to side as her hazel eyes sought out any signs of unnatural arson amongst the vast expanse of green below her. "Come on..." She hissed as the flames in her palms flickered wildly in the afternoon breeze.

"Where is h-"

A large, flaming pillar erupted seemingly out of the bowels of Remnant itself, before a large explosion shook the skies and drained the majority of oxygen from the already thin air, turning the once clear, blue and tranquil atmosphere into a bright, scarlet hue while giant plumes of smoke billowed out of the densest parts of the woods.

_There!_

"That idiot..." Amber muttered under her breath as she swooped down, propelled by the jetstream of fire pouring out of her hands towards the source of the explosion. "Phase one villain or not, she's still part Maiden, what was he thinking?!"

_Louis's POV_

"Raaaargh!" Cinder roared with blazing fury as her arm whipped around, spewing a streaming mixture of molten glass and fire everywhere, setting the nearby treeline ablaze.

Anything else past that was smoldered beyond recognition as far as the eye can see.

"Not holding back even if it pretty much leaves you with nothing up your sleeve huh?" I leaped high up into the air, flipping backward to avoid an incoming fireball of massive proportions that was hurtled in my direction.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Cinder seethed as she tried to twist her body to the side to cover her mutated arm after realizing the meaning behind my words. "Dead I tell you! D E A D. DEAD! Who are you to use his face against me?! Show who you truly are behind the mask you don, coward!"

"I'd honestly prefer _you_ with the damn mask on and for you to talk way less." I grunted as I saw the patch of charred grass I landed on crunched beneath my feet and withered into dust, before lifting my hand high up into the air, expecting to grab... _something, _and hopefully soon. "Perhaps it would've been a better decision to let Ruby blast you senseless with her silver eyes after all."

"SILENCE BUFFOON!"

Another wave of scorching heat shot towards me, causing me to roll sideways once more to dodge it.

"Kev!" My eyes flicked towards the group for a brief moment that was huddled around half a football field away, before dodging an incoming barrage of smaller fireballs coming my way like incidenary cannonballs. "Hurry up!"

"Hold on..." He grunted in pain, and I was sure I heard something creak within, close to snapping. "It's heav-"

"Oh give me that!" Yang yelled as she lifted Requiem single-handedly and tossed it my way. "Heads up!"

Cinder's eyes widened when she saw the dark blade hurtling straight for her, and gave me the break I needed to hitch a ride it mid-air, using the blonde brawler's superior strength to propel myself at the mad woman.

"Let's see how you fare against someone on a more... even ground." I smirked as I flipped forwards, bringing both my body and the dark blade down to meet two, shorter ones of her own which she conjured seemingly out of thin air, screeching with a resonating clang that rattled the battlefield. "Shall we?"

A crater formed beneath her feet on the already dried ground that was close to being clay, before it erupted and sent dust and dirt flying all over the place.

_Shift_

"Hnnngh..."

Ruby looked jittery and ready to explode into rose petals in a rush to help the wolftailed warrior, but stood her ground and only managed to nibble on her bottom lip as the blonde brawler extended her hand to block her waist, and shook her head.

"Trust him a little."

"I do Yang. You and I both know I do." She muttered impatiently. "But..."

"He's facing a Maiden."

Yang sighed as she faced her partner, but couldn't deny the factual statement.

"You sure it takes all three of us to guard this..." Her eyes roved down to where the messy, bloody, gagged up boy was being... _untied, _to put it simply. "This... errand boy?"

"This _errand boy_ was once your headmaster." Kevin stated, eyes flicking between the glares they were sending him and the two heavy hitters fiercely locked in combat. "And to answer your question, Ruby alone would be enough to pull off a hit and run," He then eyed the other two beside him with a twinge of regret in his eyes. "If it were just him. Unfortunately, the three of us have no Huntsman training. Hell, not even our Semblances are discovered and our Auras are still locked. So we're sitting ducks if any one of the two decides to jump us."

He then flung his hands in the air as he failed to untie the dead knots that bound both the farmboy's arms and legs together. "We could drag ourselves further into the woods, so that we'd be hidden from sight, but right now, no matter how crazy it sounds, right here is the safest place there is at the moment." He gestured around the forest fire that was quickly spreading at the moment to further prove his point. "A stray shot can prove fatal, and there's bound to be a lot of that at the moment."

"Trust me, do you think I'd like the idea of Louis getting shish kebabed in front of my very eyes?" He glared back at the trio with a somehow more threatening atmosphere behind it.

Enough to somehow make them falter first and hang their heads in shame even thinking that they may not have cared about the wellbeing of their close friend.

Still,

That didn't change the fact that they were nothing but mere spectators at the moment.

Yet again.

"Tch..." Yang gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists to the point where her nails were pressing down on her Aura, threatening to break it and draw blood. "Then we stand here and do nothing?"

"The best we can do is trust that you've trained him well enough..." A wave of heat rolled past their bodies, but to their relief, they could tell it was dissipated enough not to be heading straight for them. In fact, the sheet of fire was licking the trees far away as Louis blocked incoming glass projectiles shot from her signature bow. "Or that he can hold out long enough for either Evans to arrive or Qrow to finish."

"But what if he doesn't?" The small reaper asked as she turned around to watch her uncle, who was locked in combat with the Atlesian mana little to their right. "What if Uncle Qrow finishes too late? What if Evans doesn't see the commotion or is caught up in the fight with any of the others on Salem's side? They never said they came alone."

Blake managed to tackle Ruby on time, just as an incandescent stream of fire shot past them, causing Ruby to squirm uneasily on the ground.

"Then we just have to hope that a certain _raven_... " Derrick said, dusting himself off any sweat and dirt as Blake made quick work of the thick rope with a swift slash. "Gives in and spread her wings."

_Shift_

"Qrow Brawnwen." Arthur flaunted a greeting as he blocked the large blade with what looked like a dull grey revolver that hosted way too many bullets, having twenty or so rounds in the cylinder itself.

The overall frame surrounding the gun took the form of a rusty gold embroidering with vine like patterns that grew on both sides of the barrel, the complex looking design making any who see it wonder if it was an antique heirloom that belonged in a museum instead of a Huntsman level weapon. "Your reputation exceeds you."

"So does yours pal." Qrow said as he broke the locked weapons by sliding the large girth of Harbinger on the frame that was holding it together in an attempt to cleave it in two.

Arthur somehow managed to deflect and drive the blade towards the ground, before delivering a jab at Qrow's face, then another with the grip of his gun, and kicking his gut with a blow that sent Qrow flying backwards.

The effort to disarm the mustached man only resulted in creating a distance between the two that the Atlesian man immediately capitalized on by aiming low to shoot a couple of rounds at the unkempt man's knees in order to keep him from closing in again.

"Why would an ex Atlesian researcher go and join Salem?!" The swordsman spat as he deflected the bullets by twirling his greatsword around in a large radius in front of him. "What do you have to gain?!" He sliced a bullet in two.

It was at this point where Qrow realized nothing would get through the wanted felony and that he should just jump to threats right away. "Jimmy would be..." Two halves of a beady round landed on the ground behind him. "Very upset when he hears about this." Another followed up, actually getting past the man's attention and guard to bend his Aura inwards, leaving his left shoulder bruised.

"You're talking as if I give a flying damn as to what James thinks of me." The mustached man scoffed. "He should have seen this coming when he forsook me. The very moment he took notice of that fat bastard's research against my own, superior work." He swiped his armed hand across the air as his lips peeled back into a snarl.

"As to what I have to gain," A floating projection of what seems like a small wall of hexagonal proton shields appeared to his left, causing him to tap it a few times before facing the drunken swordsman once more. "The world will come to know my name. It will go down in all history, passed down from one generation, to the next."

"No amount of toys are going to help you." Qrow's weapon clicked and whirred, flashing a fully extended Harbinger in the form of a scythe before him as he squared his knees, ready to lunge forward at full speed to subdue the man. "Maybe somewhere in Atlas, where that would have had actually done something you would've had my guard up. But here pal?" He looked around to emphasize the woods around him.

"Care to wait till you actually know what I just did?" The researcher sighed in disappointment as he fired off a few more rounds. "I could see how you donned the name _Brawnwen_ name well. Till then however, it looks like I would have to buy time as my colleague couldn't quite retain her temper..." He looked past the crimson eyed man, towards the brunt of the melee a good distance away.

After a while where the two grown-ups just stared each other down to see who would make the first move, he added. "Are you sure you want to stand here facing me instead of helping that brat out there? He is facing a Maiden, and I don't need to tell you the extent of their powers." Arthur smirked amusedly. "You've witnessed it yourself."

"I have faith in the kid." Qrow shrugged back nonchalantly as he kept his eyes on the wanted man as they circled each other. "I trust him enough to know what he's doing, and that he'd keep my nieces out of harm's way. You should be focusing on me instead pal."

"And what if I don't?" Arthur raised a brow mockingly. "They're very vulnerable, and even as Huntresses in training, still very inexperienced." He smirked. "Not to mention, they all have their backs are facing us."

The swordsman sent a bone chilling glare his way, before he skyrocketed forwards while brandishing his scythe, turning into a large blur of crimson mixed with dark grey.

_Louis's POV_

"What's wrong?" I asked as I sent a flurry of jabs with the tip of my sword to drive her back, causing her to grunt and shriek in pain as a few went through her guard and grazed her Aura, with some managing to draw a few droplets of blood. "Still think I'm a fake?"

Her chest was heaving up and down in exhaustion, clasping her still hidden arm in pain.

I rammed the butt of my pommel in the direction of said arm, causing her to block with her other limb in order to dampen the impact.

It did no such thing, and instead, she ended up fracturing her bones within whilst screaming in pain.

_Have to give credit to Raven there._ I honed my eyes on the long, red sleeve that was majorly torn, revealing bits and pieces of a dark monstrosity one would even dare call a hand._ She was the reason that I knew Aura doesn't protect her transformed parts. She had to spend the majority of her time guarding instead of focusing on offense, which I learned throughout our battle, isn't something she's particularly good at._

As much as I'd hate to admit it, I'm no match for her.

An experienced Huntress with the powers of a Maiden that's also part Grimm, trained thoroughly by mommy Salami herself as a prodigy to her own magic. Luckily for me, the fact that she was part Grimm created a perfect weak point for me to focus on instead of having to wither down an overall barrier that shielded her body...

Looks like she'd gotten cocky after gaining the Maiden powers, feeling atop of the world and ended up craving for more.

"Look at the sky too often, and you'll eventually trip on a rock." I sneered.

Even when she could at any given time throughout the fight, she hasn't used that damned arm that has impressive range and flexibility, so she's either foolish enough to hold back because I used Ruby's silver eyes as a threat...

Or she's dumb enough to think that Raven would still comply with her little deal after that shitshow.

Which was good because...

Even if I didn't show it, I'm just as exhausted as she is.

The only thing that was preventing my clothes from burning up was the fact that they were completely soaked with sweat generated from the sheer heat she was producing for the past ten or so minutes of ruthless combat, and both my lungs and calves feel like they were close to collapsing and constantly on fire.

They probably are, considering the flames that she surrounded us with, though training with both Ruby and Yang had taught me the importance of maintaining, regulating, and saving my stamina for cases of stronger opponents, and that month with Evans in the Emerald Forest taught me how to control my breathing and pacing of combat so that I could deliver powerful blows to multiple opponents without using too much effort.

Exhausting that much fire on trying to hit me with seemingly endless reserves must've drained her Aura and left her running on fumes.

For now, I had the upper hand.

_Though..._

I turned to face backward for a moment to look at the wooden gates that towered the forest, where the bandits were rounding up the few casualties that happened on our way out.

In the middle of it all, was none other than Raven Branwen herself, covering a scarred face which looked like it had second degree burns with a dampened cloth.

Even with the mask on, I could tell that she was frightened. Her shoulders were tense and shaking.

She was afraid to reveal the powers of the maiden right here, right now, in front of both her daughter and her brother. But why? She had no such problem doing so when push came to shove.

And these were one of those moments.

"Louis look out!"

I don't know who called out the warning.

It could have been Blake,

It could have been Ruby,

Maybe Yang.

Hell, probably even one of the boys. But at that point, I didn't need to know, neither should I have cared.

That was when I realized my mistake of turning my back on a rampaging powerhouse.

The first thing I felt was what felt like searing steel impacting my cheek, causing me to howl in pain as it punctured my aura and cracked my jawbone, before the momentum sent me hurtling towards one of the charred trees and my back to impact many beyond it, finally crashing towards sharp and thorny bushes all the way at the other side of the camp.

My chest flared with pain as I tried to suck up the air, due to probably internal bleeding, while my face felt numbed and cramped. I had to struggle just to get an eye open to get a good grasp on the situation.

"Hah... haha!" Cinder's shoulders rose and fell as she wore a victorious, yet manic smile, striding towards me with malicious intent, the fire from her arm finally engulfing her sleeve to reveal the full length of her once beautiful and slender arm, reduced to nothing but a dark, skeletal remain with bits and pieces of flesh hanging from it's sides.

She tore what's left of the singed cloth away, making the once perfect dress into an asymmetrical, charred mess.

I growled as I grabbed the side of my face, smelling the scent of burnt hair and flesh from my cheek.

Then I tasted salt.

Liquid salt.

And lots of it no less.

My vision blurred and turned scarlet red, all while my mind turned hazy as I started to see double.

"Piece of..." I spat out the blood from my mouth and wiped it off for any residue.

My eyes then widened in panic when I heard a familiar bolt clicking into place, along with other weapons that echoed it with their similar mecha shifting properties.

"NO!" I screamed.

To who I was addressing it to, it did not matter.

"Don't do anything stupid!"

"But-!"

"I said stay put Ruby!" I struggled to get out as pain erupted from my chest. "Don't do whatever you're gonna do! She's gonna kill you all!"

Luckily, my mouth was still functioning as per normal and words managed to get out, even when it hurts like a bitch everytime I decided to do so.

"You'll die!"

"Blake!" I hissed sternly, even when I couldn't see her clearly amongst the pain flooding my nerves. "Don't-"

An explosive dust round rocketed past Cinder's face and the grass to my right exploded.

My mouth opened in horror as I eyed what was very well a blurry silhouette of the blonde brawler with glowing, crimson eyes, along with the golden glint of a hissing barrel of Ember Celica, before Cinder took one amused look at the chunk of ground, then at me.

In slow motion, I saw her head turn towards the group I tried so hard to keep out of harm's way as her palms shimmered. She slowly lifted it in their direction.

Her eyes blazed furiously as waves of heat rolled off her arms, igniting her fingers.

"Get down!"

"Shit!"

A jetstream of fire shot over the group a good meter away, just enough to keep them from being barbequed on the spot, and exploding into a massive fireball directly behind them.

"Gah!" Cinder grabbed both ends of my blade as I wrapped it around her neck, dragging it backward in a secure hold as I held her steadfastly. My bones creaked and my jaw might've been dislocated, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Not one bit.

"Gey away from here, all of yo-!"

That charade didn't last long.

Her elbow rocketed backward, expelling all the air out of my lungs in an instant, before her grimmified arm shot outward like a heavy flail to pin me into a tree.

The strength was drained from my body as she started to clamp and squeeze down while the cold-blooded arm started to pulsate, no longer caring who or what saw her monstrous limb.

"Stay there."

I gazed up to see her other palm held out, the flames in her golden orbs flickering furiously to savor the look of defeat in my eyes.

As I grabbed the elongated palm, weakly beating down on it in an attempt to release any tension, I eyed the group one last time, where most were on their fours, with the blonde brawler being the first to look in my direction.

The regretful and helpless look on her face told me she was going to jump in and help me, but couldn't afford to without getting me in the blast radius with Cinder being so close to me.

That was assuming her shot would even connect.

She looked around desperately to see if anybody else can do a better job than herself.

As she looked around her, I grasped what she was thinking.

Ruby to cut the limb with the mere girth of Cresent Rose, Blake to use her Semblance and take me away. It would've been a good plan. Great even. But they were all on the ground, coughing out a storm with their faces covered in soot, looking like they were about to pass out from the lack of oxygen.

The boys barely moved, with Kevin blocking Oscar's already frail body.

And that was just from one near miss.

Making up my mind as I held onto my decision, I just look at her dead in the eye and shook my head.

_Raven's POV_

_Why? _Raven asked as she looked down at an injured man while Vernal tended to his aid. _Why did he help us?_

_He didn't need to._

_I kidnapped him._

_I tried to rape him._

_I took everything away from him._

_Yet... why?_

"Help him!"

_... Huh?_

"Please!"

Raven snapped out of her thoughts as her crimson eyes from behind the mask sought out the voice that called her.

It met lilac orbs that were close to breaking down in tears.

Her eyes then saw what her daughter was so desperately referring to.

"Grrk..." Blood poured out of the young man's gritted teeth, and dribbled down the side of his fractured jaw as an enlarged, elastic black claw clamping down on him like a tool from a construction site, slowly squeezing the life force out of him.

"Help him please!" Yang yelled as she looked desperately into her mother's face as she fell on her knees. "Please! Just this once!"

She looked over to the other side, where her idiot brother was trying to shoot the Atlesian scientist down with his weapon. Obviously, it was to no avail with the wide spread of Harbinger's buckshot, but he still attempted to do it with no possible openings in sight.

"MOM!"

"..."

Raven's focus snapped back to where the woman with the red dress was only moments away from incinerating the boy.

The same boy who she tried to make love with.

The same boy who saved her daughter.

The same boy who... helped her.

"Family... " She muttered as she curled her hand into a fist, before releasing it with a long breath. "Huh?"

Beneath the mask, crimson eyes blazed alight.

_Louis's POV_

"Stay there..." She cackled with her arm glowing cherry red, her eyes blazing, her vicious smile that was plastered onto her face telling me that I have no future. "And DIE!"

I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst.

The heat dissipated from my face and all the tension that was close to crushing my torso was released in an instant.

The next thing I knew, I dropped to the floor and she disappeared from my sights faster than a Yang Xiao Long spotting a chance to make a lousy pun.

"AAAH!" Cinder shrieked and was sent flying across the woods, blasted off her feet in a mere fraction of a second.

"What the..." I grabbed my aching stomach as I got down on all fours, trembling from the vice grip the monstrous arm was capable of, wanting nothing more than to curl up into a fetal position and close my eyes.

Obviously, that wasn't an option. Not with the group still out there.

"You're a moron... have I ever told you that?"

I felt something wrap around my waist, and when my eyes roved downwards, it was to see a feminine limb trying it's best to prop me up against her.

"Checked... yourself out lately?" I asked, and through my red vision I could see remnants of a copper-skinned woman, giving me that undeniable and all too familiar, cocky smirk. Hazel eyes met my dark ones. "What the hell was that firework supposed to be for? It's a little too early to celebrate your birthday, don't ya think?"

"And yours?" She chuckled. "I never intended Requiem to be used as a party popper y'know."

"Grrraaaah..."

"Looks like the reunion will have to wait." Amber said as her eyes locked onto the source of the pained groan. "Can you fight?"

"Can you breathe?" I shot back.

"You're fine." She sniggered as she let go for me to stand on my own and fell into a fighting stance.

"Who..."

Almost immediately, all pain ceased from her face when she caught sight of exactly who put her in such a state as the edge of her lips curled into a devious smile. "_You..._" She purred with a saccharine tone.

"Ready when you are." Amber nodded visibly, causing me to return it.

"Don't let that arm touch you."

"Don't worry." She waved off with a smirk as a sole eye flared with a bright yellow flame. "The few months with Dwiki left me with more than enough practice."

Without warning, a blur of black lurched past us like an elongated tendril, and as expected, it prioritized the original Fall Maiden first, attempting to wrap around her to seal any hopes of escaping.

Amber leapt high up into the air, propelled further with the powers of the Maiden that lifted her off the ground.

A vortex of wind surrounded her and brewed the dust around us high up into the air, before a barrage of pebbles and twigs were sent flying at Cinder, seemingly at all directions all at once.

"You're open!" I shouted.

As if on queue, the grimmified parasite shot out of the smoke, attempting to eviscerate and ground Amber, but it latched onto thin air instead.

Frustrated, it retracted back to its host literally empty-handed, and as the dust cleared, Cinder came to see me holding my weapon once more.

She snarled as she summoned her signature longbow made of blackened glass.

"It doesn't matter if there are two, or three, or even ten of you!" Cinder yelled furiously as she nocked a glass arrow, stretching the string backward with killing intent. "I'll keep on coming back for the Maiden's powers, and I will not stop until the deed is done!"

"Oh, we know." I shrugged nonchalantly as I squared my feet. "Nothing's to say we can't make your life hell while at it though."

I lurched her way as I ducked under the whistling arrowehead, the dark blade brandished in one hand as the clouds darkened to spew lightning.

_Raven's POV_

The hilt of her blade rattled in her hand.

Her knuckles ran white, and below the mask, so did her face.

All of a sudden, her palms felt sweaty while the air turned ice cold, causing goosebumps to traverse down her spine.

_Another Maiden...?_

_Here?!_

There was no doubt about it.

She was on Salem's hit list, whether she liked it...

Or not.

There was no going back.

Not unless she decides to run away and flee right here and now.

They were all distracted, and they never knew that she was the Spring Maiden.

All it takes is one transformation into a bird, and she could fly away.

Fly and be free forever.

Fly... and escape.

Again.

Just like what she did with Yang, Tai Yang, Qrow, and Summer.

_Louis's POV_

[FIGHT LIKE A TIGER (FULL VERSION) - Guilty Gear STRIVE (Chipp's Theme)]

"I'm right here!" I taunted as the ground erupted from another clap of thunder, and then bright light engulfed the space between us.

"Die faker!" Cinder roared in anger as she shielded her eyes from the blinding illumination, before I broke through it and gave her arm a few swift stabs with the jagged edge, causing her to stagger backward in agony.

"GRAAAAH!" Her arm lashed outwards to whip me senseless, trying to pin me to either the ground or the trees once more.

I ducked beneath it, and then slashed my blade once more into the dark being, before climbing atop it in an attempt to weigh it down and pin it to the ground.

It proved to be a fatal mistake as it turned into a limbless beast with a single, strong flick, and soon I found myself being at the same level as the tallest trees in the area where the air ran thin, suspended freely in space with nothing but a mutated arm keeping me in place.

Without warning, it shot downwards as she tried to turn me into a human pancake.

The limb increased in velocity, straining my limbs from the G force that she was producing, before it turned at a diagonal angle, dragging me across the ground in a wide radius, covering my face in dried twigs, charred grass and dried mud that was tearing through my Aura, reducing it near zero.

A gust of wind tore through the melee, blowing me in the opposite direction and ripping me free of the claw, causing me to embed and drag my blade across the ground.

More wind blowing on my back caused me to feel weightless for a brief moment, helping me slow my momentum to a near halt, and cushioning my fall while I flipped backward, and landed on the patch of grass.

"Insolent maggot!" She yelled. "Stay where you are so that I could claim what's rightfully mine!"

Heat began to gather in her palm, and before long, multiple spikes of molten glass began to solidify in the air. More and more gathered around the red dressed woman, making her look like a large crystal hedgehog, before the crystalized projectiles shot outward like the worlds largest glass grenade, with the majority of it aimed to ground the Maiden. Permanently.

Unfortunately, my presence did not go unforgotten.

Or more accurately, she tried to kill everything in the area.

A glance saw Yang destroying a few of the projectiles with an explosive round from Ember Celica, while Ruby destroyed a few with her quick precision. Blake used the Dust in Gambol Shroud to make an ice clone of herself, acting as a wall to shield herself and some of the boys.

"You have got to be kidding me." I groaned as I held my greatsword in a vertical angle, swatting any incoming projectiles with swift precision.

Even after getting destroyed, the hailstorm of shards managed to pierce through my Aura in some cases, pelting and marking me in multiple different places while shredding most of my clothing.

"I'll take both your lives before I go down!" She screamed, before the ground beneath me turned cherry red.

A leap backward proved to be the correct decision as a pillar of fire erupted not soon after, shooting towards the skies and into oblivion.

A clap of thunder echoed it, before lightning struck the trees close to her, turning it into ashes whilst charging the ground with electricity.

Yet again, she tried to grab the nuisance mid air, and that was when I closed the distance between us, jabbing at her arm once more.

Yelling furiously, her arm flung backward to discard of my existence. I ducked beneath it, driving my jagged end to meet her bone like claws.

_Divide..._

I rammed the butt of my pommel into her stomach.

_And conquer._

She staggered as I heard her blanch. A knee followed up soon after, connecting to her jaw and sent her spiraling into the woods.

"You know..." Amber landed next to me as whipped her hair behind her. "I could get used to this."

"You'd like that won't you?" I chuckled as the large blade retracted to lock its special mechanism. "Being in a woman's body."

"Meh, it's not as bad as it looks." She shrugged, and with a wave, the thunder clouds dissipated. "Think she turned tail?"

A dark cable shot out of the woods, answering her question as it sought its prey.

It failed when her arm got severed midway by a streak of white, and the deafening clap that followed afterward.

A banshee's scream tore through the air as the severed claw dropped to the floor, fingers twitching spasmodically as it lived its last moment before curling up like a dead spider, and stayed still.

Cinder stepped out of the treeline soon after.

Vengeful eyes met with the one responsible.

"What?" Amber shrugged nonchalantly with crossed arms. "Can't say we didn't give you a chance."

The ground erupted in flames as Cinder seemed to have found her second wind, causing us to leap backwards to avoid the incoming magma as her eye blazed alight once more.

"She's tougher than I anticipated." Amber whispered as she landed beside me.

"Ya think?" I checked my wrist for any remaining StarDust I had stored in my gloves. "How much juice do you think it'll take to drive her out of here?"

"Now that I'm here?" The Fall Maiden appeared deep in thought for a brief moment. "I would say... never. Though I am close to running out."

"Figures." I deadpanned and sighed as Cinder's arm seemingly grew back from where the stump once was, all the while her severed part began to dissolve into dark vapors, becoming one with the air. "You're basically living with half of your lifespan. Can we defeat her?"

"Not without your Team's hel-"

"And let you guard the boys? Alone?" My eyes couldn't help but check on the state of everybody grouped up, but even covered in ashes and grime their face had a wide smile plastered onto it as they seemingly cheered us on from afar.

"You're their primary goal back at Beacon, remember?" I reminded him as Cinder stood there, exhausted to the brink of collapsing, yet with enough renewed vigor and determination to claim the Fall Maiden's powers to push beyond her limits.

Her chest rose and fell while her pupils shrank and mist started to come out of her gnashed teeth. Her clothing was in shambles and her hair was no longer neat and attractive, but wild and untamed.

She'll aim for Amber no matter what.

Even if it does bring her to an early grave.

"They would even abandon Ruby and Ozpin if they could reel you in to make her whole."

As if to accentuate the point, a molten rock blasted the ground at our feet, causing us to roll to the side.

"I'm going to burn all of you to ashes!" She claimed furiously. "Every. Single. ONE OF YOU!"

When I got up, I realized she wasn't aiming in my direction.

"Crap."

Everybody's eyes widened when they realized that she'd shifted her focus towards where everybody was assembled at, and no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't all get out of there on time.

I rushed over to intercept the dark limb that was aiming to kill as it shot out like a harpoon, only for it to work its way around me.

I slammed Requiem's blade to sever it in what I assumed was the elbow, only for it to do nothing but barely graze it at skin level, hissing and closing up as if nothing ever happened.

"What the-?!"

Cinder grunted in pain, then cackled wildly as the arm continued unimpeded.

"You fool!" She shouted. "You're right in assuming Aura doesn't affect this arm. Clever boy." Her sinister grin grew wider. "Yet you fail to notice that this arm could bend to my will! I could make it tougher and harder to cut just by thinking about it!"

_Bullshit!_

The dark limb kept extending to seemingly limitless length, and my mouth opened to call out a warning.

It was aiming for Ruby.

Silver eyes widened, and she froze in place.

Her whole body seemed to tense up at the appendage that was getting closer and closer, and squared her feet as she decided to take it head on.

I brought my blade down again to finish what I started.

It healed up again.

A mane of gold came into view, and stood in front of her, spreading her arms out wide and covering the small reaper behind her back, only for the fingers to split in two directly in front of her, thumb, pointer and middle on one side, ring and pinkie shooting out towards the other, extending and curling upwards, twisting like snakes and coiling like a scorpion's tail behind them, then striking downward to hit the red hooded leader from behind.

"Just like the arrow." I whispered to myself, before I shook it off, and let Requiem split open in the middle with a heavy clank.

The same arrow that murdered Pyrrha Nikos.

With all my might, I slammed the projection of Hard-Light Dust in the middle to nail the limb lifeless, only for her to shriek in pain, but took it straight on, letting the searing dust penetrate through what felt like rotten flesh, bone, and out to meet flesh again.

The clawed fingers didn't slow down.

"No..." I breathed, looking at the group. "Ruby look out!"

She turned around too late.

I saw a burst of red splatter to the ground.

"I... " She let out an exhausted breath. "Win... "

"Grk..." Blood spluttered from Amber's mouth as the bony extrusion of Cinder's fingers lifted the Maiden's body high up into the air, over the frightened sibling's heads as they could do nothing but watch in despair and helplessness, melding once more into a full arm as it merged seamlessly with a smoky hiss.

"I... WIN!" Cinder laughed again. "HAHAHAHA! The powers of the Fall Maiden are MINE!"

It started to pulsate, making the Fall Maiden scream in terror as the remaining half of her life force was starting to leak out of her in a form of a faint brown glow that traveled past me, and into Cinder.

"NO!" I screamed, cracking the Hard-Light Dust loose as fast as I could and jabbing another one directly beside it in order to cause enough pain for her to release her grip on Amber.

The middle part of my blade extended as it glowed brightly, puncturing a large hole into the dark limb, but Cinder had no intention of letting go anytime soon.

The limb only sizzled as the wound began to close around the crimson projection.

Again she took the brunt of it, but not before sending a stream of fire my way with her other hand.

The heat rolled off my back and the side of my face glowed orange, but I made no move to dodge away from it, and instead let the flames engulf my body.

"LOUIS!"

Not this time.

Not with Amber's, and by extent, Evans's life on the line.

"AAAGHH!" The eyes of the Fall Maiden flickered wildly, the influx in power messing with her own Aura, her vitality, her will.

More and more pulses just seemed to travel down the dark limb like a drinking straw and fuel Cinder up, eating away at her.

At Evans.

"Mine!" Cinder claimed. "Finally! Mine!"

Desperately, I looked for another way to sever her arm, but came up empty.

A bullet whizzed past my face, and impacted Cinder's exposed shoulder, but she merely grunted as her other eye started to flicker and glow with a faint flame.

"Let. Her. Go." Ruby said as she cocked the bolt of Cresent Rose backward, letting the used bullet fall out of the chamber with a clink before firing off another to her gut.

I yanked at the blade, cracking yet another punctured crimson projection.

Was this it?

Was Amber really created just to die?

Was her death really... inevitable?

No matter how hard we tried?

I brought the blade down again in frustration, ramming the flat end to ram the Hard-Light projectiles already embedded into the monstrosity deeper, but to no avail.

Cinder just laughed harder, and without warning, I felt the length of the arm that was right in front of me bend away and with twice the force, towards me to swat me like a fly, then I was sent flying, before being further knocked back by a wave of fire that felt hotter than ever before.

"Shit." I snarled as I wiped my split lip from any excess blood, propping myself up by one hand to sit upright on the ground.

"Louis!"

"Are you okay?"

"What were you thinking?"

I looked up to see each of my teammates facing me, each wearing a concerned expression as they tried to help me up.

"Are you guys unhurt?"

Ruby looked confused, while Yang and Blake just looked at each other, and sighed.

"That's our Louis alright." The blonde brawler shook her head. "Always looking out for the others before himself."

"I don't need to hear that from someone who was willing to get impaled by a demi Grimm. Or another who thinks she could cut it down head on." I eyed the two sisters as they got me up on my feet.

"What should we do?" The small reaper asked as the grimmified limb retracted to its rightful owner, dragging the Fall Maiden along with it.

"Nothing." I replied with a frustrated growl. "I can't think of anything I can do to ground that damned arm. Its regenerative powers are too great. That was completely new and caught me off guard. Even if I do somehow manage to ground it, her Maiden powers had just doubled, and I can't tank that much fire especially after she wore down my Aura."

Yang's hands clenched into fists.

"But I can."

"Yang." I glared.

"What? I can take it."

"And I can dodge it with my Semblance." Blake added.

"I know you're all trying to help." I muttered under my breath. "And I appreciate it, really. But she's far too dangerous. You saw how fast she could dispatch the three of you in one fell swoop."

"Well we can't stay here and do nothing!" Ruby said. "Evans is still out there! Fighting for us!"

"I know," I answered as I eyed the situation unfolding before me. "I'm trying to see what we could do to get Amber back. Just give me a second to thin-."

I heard a cacophony of shuffling from behind me, and by the way the others turned around, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

The first thing I saw was a white scabbard that hosted an ancestral blade, along with bronze armour and hair that matched the color of Ruby's hood.

Team RWBY alone... maybe not.

_But... with the rest..._

They all looked at me.

I nodded back.

"Maybe you all could help after all."

_Shift_

The demonic arm pulled a bleeding Amber closer and closer to Cinder, uncaring for how much brunt it took in order to retrieve the ultimate goal.

"After so long..." The long-haired woman purred. "The irony. I didn't even have to seek you out. You came to me, just as Arthur had said any of the Maidens would."

"You could've let the silver-eyed one die, and you would live. Yet, you chose to save her, and so are the fates of heroes. That's what dear old Ozpin promised you, isn't it?" She asked the half-lidded Maiden on the verge of passing out. "A life of a hero, with powers beyond imagination, beyond the limits of mankind could ever hope to produce... or achieve. Beyond... what _you_ could handle. You never could have put it to good use. You barely used it at all, and when you do? Where does fate bring you?"

"Back to me." Amber finally reached close enough to look at her face to face, the harpoon of an arm reeling in the catch of a lifetime as the essence of her soul continually drained away.

Bloodied teeth only managed to let out an unfathomable gurgle as the flames continually flickered from her eye, becoming nothing but a mere wick in the process.

"Rest easy knowing your powers will be put to better use." Cinder chuckled, the flames that licked her fingers constantly growing bigger the longer she held her palm out. "Now die."

"No, you."

KRAKOOM

Both halves of the Fall Maidens didn't even glance where Amber had put her palm out to call lightning down with the last ounce of her power, knowing that such an attempt would only vaporize them both.

"Was that it?" Cinder taunted as she brought the Maiden closer, and closer to her face to the point where their noses were nearly touching, just to look at the dying woman straight in the eye. "This is why you're weak. You don't deserve these powers." Another pained cry. "And your stupid and desperate last attempt to maim me even missed. By a far cry might I add."

"... didn't..."

"What?" Cinder brought the Maiden to her ear, leaning in to listen to her last words. "Run that by me again."

"I..." Amber struggled to get out. "Didn't... miss."

A hammer slammed into her back, launching the dark haired woman high up into the air, only for a disc of a shield to bend her double and caused spittle to fly out of her mouth.

Her eyes narrowed in pain, and while she was attempting to get a birds eye view for her assailants, she suddenly rocketed down into the ground.

"Nikos!" Cinder seethed as she tried to get up, only to figure out the circular shield was keeping her in place.

"Now!"

A barrage of explosive rounds followed up to pulverize her on the spot, the cacophony of explosions echoing throughout the battlefield while the clouds mixed in a haze of pink and yellow.

A blur of red shot past the melee, it's edges glowing cherry red as the power symbol on it's hinge lit up, flickering fiercely as the whole length of Cresent Rose burned.

"Hyaaah!" With a twirl and a well timed slash, Ruby tore through the limb like a hot knife through butter, causing it to hiss and sizzle and for its owner to screech in pain.

The body of Amber dropped lifelessly onto the ground.

_Louis's POV_

"How is she not dead yet?!"

"Not now Jaune." I said as I nodded over to Blake, who nodded back as she scurried over hurriedly to grab Amber by the shoulders, before replacing it with a shadow clone while their real selves escaped, but not before planting something on the ground.

As expected, the arm regrew and lashed out, honing in on the silhouette of the downed Maiden's last known position through the thick smoke produced by our explosive ammunition.

Only for it to slam down on a pair of Hard-Light spikes.

It hissed and sizzled as it went all the way through with the sheer force the monstrous appendage was going at.

"Good thing you handled that thing with care." I glanced over to Blake slipping my pair of gloves off her slender hands. "Its-"

"Volatile, I was there." Blake rolled her eyes and dangled the accessory in front of my face, which I slipped back on and secured the strap. Requiem clanked loudly as it closed up, all while the others evacuated the area.

"I'll kill you!" Cinder roared as she struggled to get up as everybody reconvened at my side, the leader of team JNPR and the red haired champion at the ready with their shields just in case that arm still had some fight in it.

"You'll all die! And you..." She pointed accusingly in my direction. "I'm going to wipe that stupid smile of your face, and you'll cease to exist forev-"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Wait... why are you smili-" Her eyes widened to comical proportions as she only now realized that she retracted her grimmified arm.

Her regretful face said it all, trying to yank out the spikes even as it was stuck steadfast due to the regenerative properties.

"No... NO! Not when I finally got what I wanted!"

The same arm that nearly killed Ruby and impaled Yang.

The same arm that took away half of Amber's life.

The same arm... that had explosive StarDust in it.

"Boom."

I snapped my fingers.

Her grimmified arm exploded.

"AAAAAGGHHH!" Cinder screamed in agony as darkened ichor sprayed out of the gaping hole at her side.

Her organs were sizzling and imploding at some places, while others went out of their intended spots as they splattered onto the ground.

I immediately grabbed Ruby's hood and pulled it over her head, before Yang took control and pulled the young and shivering girl into a tight hug.

"Cover your ears." I whispered into the leader while I stood in front of her.

Grime, blood both dark and red in nature, along with viscera mixed into one beneath her, before her eyes literally popped out of their sockets from the mere force of the explosion. Her skin flaked across her face, before revealing the burning flesh underneath that vaporized instantly to further reveal her jawbone that cracked and crumbled in some places.

It was a gruesome sight, with the only thing keeping her body intact and not dissolve into red mist being the copious amount of Aura that she stole from Amber.

She fell to her knees, somehow still alive even after half of her body was chewed out, and tilted her head downward to look at her own guts that spilled out, before her dangling eyeballs extinguished of any light, and crumpled to her side with a loud squelch as it landed on her innards.

...

"Did... did we do it?" Ruby's muffled voice asked from beneath Yang's breasts.

"I-Is it finally over?" Jaune's shielded eyes weren't doing much better.

A quick glance all around showed almost everybody doing the same, with Blake, Pyrrha, and I being the only exceptions.

That was a good question.

One I did not have the answer to.

A pained groan caught my attention, and I immediately knelt over to examine the Fall Maiden.

"Grrrh..." Brown eyes cracked open to peek in my direction.

"Save your strength." I grabbed her arm and nodded. "Rest easy. She's gone."

"I don't feel... the rush... the power, the life force... coming back."

"You don't?" I questioned with a raised brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." She groaned in pain. "It's gone."

"Not possible."

Qrow strode towards us with a blackened eye and a scratch across his cheek, but he wasn't really fatally injured.

"Uncle Qrow! You're okay!" Ruby ran up and smothered her uncle in a hard hug, trying to ignore the glimpse of horror she had just witnessed.

"Of course I am squirt." He chuckled as he rubbed his niece in her head, before he met my eyes with a serious face. "Unfortunately... he escaped."

"I was surprised you were even trying to apprehend him in the first place." I raised my brow at the unkempt man.

"So... tell us then. Where did the Maiden's powers go off to?" Kevin struggled to stand on two feet as he patted his orange t-shirt off any soot.

"Like I explained back in the ship before Salem sent her lapdogs after us, it either goes to anybody who she sees last. Or more specifically, thinking of last, or, it goes off to a random woman anywhere in Remnant."

"I doubt it went to anybody here." I looked at each and every one of them who didn't have glowing or blazing eyes. Unless you count Yang but... that was a completely different matter. "And we fought her last."

"Person who's on her mind las... Oh... Crap."

"What?" I asked a groaning Amber.

_Emerald's POV_

"Calm down Em! I'm pretty sure there's a good explainatio-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Green fire shot through the window, shattering it into smithereens and leaving it molten and charred in the site of the impact.

"She's dead Merc! How else can the powers of the Fall Maiden transfer over to me?!"

"You don't know that!"

"You very well know it as much as I do!"

Red eyes hosted tears that were close to spilling out, while her palms lit up with a bright green flame.

"She's gone... " Emerald hissed with gritted teeth as both her red eyes burned with a bright red flame. "I'm going to kill whoever did this!"

"You won't do that if you're going to bring Haven down on us like this!"

"Damn whoever did this!" She shrieked wildly. "Damn it all!"

_What's the point anymore?!_

_What's the point?!_

She felt something brush and latched onto her leg.

When she looked downwards, a saddened look of a curly-haired man met her furious eyes, even as his hair signed against the bright green flames that were engulfing her palms.

"What do you want?!" She seethed. "Go! Go back to sleep, or I'll put you permanently to rest!"

"Come down."

"No! I-!"

Without warning, she was dragged down, and even as the heat rolled off her body, Evans didn't resist as he pulled the green haired girl into a hug. "It's not your fault."

Her shoulders stiffened ash she struggled to push the man away.

"What're you doing?! Let me GO!"

Blazing palms nearly burned at his gambison, but Evans didn't care. Instead, he seemed to just tighten his hug, even as the temperature of her palms constantly increased and threatened to burn a hole into his back.

"She fought till the very end for us."

That caused her shoulders to tense up, and for her to finally cease in her struggles.

"It's about time we do the same."

Dark red eyes turned back to normal as the fire extinguished from it.

"It's okay. I'm here for you, and so is Mercury."

Emerald's palms sizzled and died out as she screamed and wailed into his chest, before breaking down on both knees in tears that she'd been holding back this entire time.

* * *

**A/N**

**Okay, that was a bit shorter for a mega chapter than I anticipated at 9,6 k words, though any more than this would be a clusterfuck. It's still one half a regular chapter, and pumping this much in three weeks with work squeezing my balls?**

**Yeah, not fun.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy as always, and I hope that things do get back to normal soon enough. I've been pumping out chapters each week last time because I was doing it in my spare time, but now it seems like even my me time is used for work itself, weekend included.**

**I'll see you all in 2 weeks (Hopefully) Again, Review if I should put a PSA if I think I couldn't put a chapter up on time, so that people wouldn't think I (And to an extent, this fic) Is dead.**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**paradox0.5white: Hey, glad to see you again in this fic's reviews! Hope you're staying safe too man!**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Not surprised, all things considered.**

**DankAnon: It does look breathtaking, and I would very much like to see Sepiroth get whacked by a chair. "Cloud Permission to kill." Or "Nailed it, I know. Thank you, moving on." Cinder and Neo huh. I'm pretty sure the only reason they got along well in 6 was cuz she convinced ice cream lady that Ruby was responsible for Roman's death. Glad to make your day through these hard times, always good to find someone who would roll over dying of laughter to my shit.**

**Sacke110: Classic and iconic, them movies. Cinder being an annoyance for you, I'm pretty sure Raven got bumped down there. She uh... does seem to actually care for Yang, but in a weird way. She cares for the camp more though, it's not like she's stone cold like Weiss when beginning or just plain dumb, but in her own weird way. Not too OOC imo.**


	66. Chapter 66

The room was filled with silence, only broken by either a stifled sniffle or a shaky breath every few seconds or so.

Emerald's trembling body gently rocked back and forth as Evans wrapped a warm and dampened towel around her shoulders which were lightly covered in soot and slightly blistered red from the outburst she had just moments ago. To his surprise, she made no effort to shrug it off.

To say the room was a mess was an understatement.

Shards of broken glass lay scattered across the floor, guaranteeing any who steps into the room without any form of precaution a really bad time, even if they had their Auras unlocked. The top half of the wooden window frame was charred beyond recognition, while the bottom half was left in a splintered mess with specks of sawdust brewing a misty veil that filled the room. The red, woolen carpets with ornate patterns that covered the floor looked like they were used as a Beowolf's chew toy.

The exothermic blast engraved streaks of magma like patterns which glowed inside of the walls reinforced with bricks and had foundations of what must be steel, considering it hadn't melted all the way through just yet, all while blowing a large, gaping hole on both on the ground and the top floor above them, while any remnants of furniture such as desks and chairs were broken beyond repair.

_Mercury's POV_

"What now?"

Evans just raised a single brow at Mercury, urging for him to go on.

"What do we do now that..." The silver-haired boy shrugged. "Y'know."

"Ah." The green-clothed man nodded in understanding. "We proceed as planned. Em has the Fall Maiden's powers-"

"Don't call me that."

"Hm?" His gaze went down to the green-haired girl beside him who had her knees bunched together and folded up to cover the lower half of her face.

"Don't call me that." She repeated after herself as she gritted her chattering teeth, and took in another shaky breath to compose herself. "Now... only Merc could call me that."

"I'm flattered." Mercury rolled his eyes, discarding the majority of rubble into a bin with a dustpan, before dropping to the floor with a relieved sigh.

Under any normal circumstances, he would've complained as to why he was doing housekeeping and lounged around with both feet on the table while reading a comic book. But a brief conversation from Evans and reassurance that he'd be the one handling Emerald had him quickly nodding and complying to the task.

A pissed off Emerald, he could handle.

Damn, he'd entertain the idea.

A pissed off Maiden Emerald that has no control of her powers what-so-ever though?

Yeah, hard pass.

He'd saw what Cinder could do with those, and he was not about to have a taste of it from someone that couldn't even keep it together.

"If we're going to be acquainted with each other then introduction with each other sounds like a good start." The shaggy man offered with a shrug while he rubbed his chin, appearing deep in thought. "We never really did that in these past few months or... at all had we?"

The new Maiden just growled something inaudible under her breath, causing Evans to chuckle.

"I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot, and that I may have dragged you under the bus by dumping a lot of attention on you,"

"So, you realized." She glared out of the corner of her eye. "This whole time..."

"But every girl I've known so far likes the attention." He finished with a warm smile.

"I'm not your average girl."

"I noticed." Smirking, he got up from the couch, and towards the door.

"And where exactly are you going?" Mercury asked with a raised brow, causing their third member to halt in place with stiffened shoulders. "You passed out for about... three days now, and with all the prodding we did, that's not exactly what we would call... normal." His eyes narrowed into stilts as he sat upright on the floor with crossed legs.

"Aaaaand that is exactly why I'm heading out." He answered as he spun around. "Travelling far distances had always been tiring. After resting for three days indoors, I've got to get some... fresh air!"

"We have a big, gaping hole in the room." Mercury pointed towards where the large window used to be. "Isn't that enough?"

"No ventilation." He offered, albeit desperately. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I promise. If there's anything you can't handle, which I doubt, call me via scroll."

_Evans's POV_

As the door clicked shut, he dragged the length of his back on the walls and slumped on the floor, and let out a distraught sigh.

_That was too close..._

_If only Louis or one of Team RWBY's members ended up being with Amber instead of Adrian... I could've avoided suspicion..._

_That idiot would've been torn to shreds by the creatures of Grimm if I'd left him alone for even an hour, let alone ten minutes..._

_I'm gonna have to start coming up with better excuses..._

Thudding footsteps cut through his thoughts as a blue-coated man riddled with scars and some marks on his once pristine trousers came into view.

"Arthur." Evans nodded a greeting as he finally got up. "To what do I owe this pleas-"

"Out of my way brat!" He knocked Evans aside as his hands latched onto the doorknob.

"Woah woah." The shaggy man just spread out both hands outwards as he stood in front of the doorway and shook his head. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I need to contact her grace." He gritted out with an exasperated look on his face that basically spelled he had no time for this. "Our plan has failed. We need the assistance of Hazel and Tyrian immediately. Cinder Fall is d-"

"Dead, we know."

His eyes narrowed dangerously, glinting with suspicion as his mustache twitched.

"And how do you have sensitive information as to what happened just mere moments ago?"

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Evans finally stepped out of the way, and like a butler, bowed down and gestured with both hands in the direction of the doors.

Arthur scoffed, muttered some form of rude, albeit high classed remark under his breath, then proceeded to continue twisting the doorknob.

The door creaked open.

The Atlesian man halted in place the moment he took the room's sight for what it is. His eyes visibly widened, while his jaw dropped to the floor.

"By my beard." He said slowly.

"You don't have one." Evans deadpanned.

Louis's POV

"Ouch ouch ouch." I gritted out in pain as bandages were applied to my torso, feeling the warm cloth wrap up and over my shoulder to prevent the whole thing from falling apart.

"Hold still."

"You try to _hold still_ while your upper body feels like it's laying down on a bed of needles Kitty Kat." I glared beside me as the cat faunus bristled in place, but didn't give any visible reaction.

"And who's fault was that exactly?" She rolled her eyes and scoffed as she gestured for me to raise my arms.

I grumbled under my breath, but made no attempt to argue with the red still running rampant among my vision, causing me to feel light-headed at times.

"What we did... that's one problem solved." Jaune said with uncertain positivity. "Right?"

"It's one problem solved while another emerges- OW!"

"Almost done..." Her muffled voice echoed around the inner walls of the tent behind me.

_That's not what it feels like..._ I thought as I allowed her to wrap the length of the rough bandage around my stomach.

_Though..._

"Heh," I smirked, even when I couldn't see her expression. "Looks like being an ex-terrorist where her allies get injured often does have its perks after al- OWW!"

"It's just a bit... loose."

"OW!" I grunted as my body jerked backwards, causing my back to arc outwards. "OI! You're doing that on purpose!"

"What makes you say that?" She smirked nonchalantly as her face finally came into my view. When she finally cracked her eyelids open, it had a bit of a murderous glint to it.

I rolled my eyes and finally laid down my arms on my sides, rubbing my sore shoulders to hopefully release all the tension stored in there.

"We did it..." Ruby muttered. "Didn't we?"

"There are still people out there who want us dead, unfortunately." I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck, applying the ointment provided to us by one of Raven's bandits. "And the Maiden powers didn't go back to Amber, so not really."

The others visibly slumped while others cursed under their breaths.

"But,"

They looked at me simultaneously with defeated looks.

"It's a victory nevertheless. We should celebrate, even if it's a small one."

"Are you telling us to sit back and relax even when Arthur Watts escaped with information on your status of being alive?" Blake's gaze turned incredulous. "I'd thought you want this to be over."

"I do," I grumbled as I rubbed what I think might be a dislocated jaw. "But we can't do anything rash. Qrow's trying to persuade Raven over to our side and until I'm in fighting condition, I doubt any of you would allow me to step out of this tent."

"Uhh... heh, what makes you say that?" Ruby provided her best smile which ended up looking obviously nervous as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Really?" I deadpanned as I tried to unveil the tent's entrance beside me which was somehow stuck together as a not so subtle adhesive can be seen on the edges.

"I mean, Raven could've accidentally sown the leather together." Ruby reasoned with a pout. "She does have a weird sense of humor."

"You guys aren't going into Haven alone." I finalized, ignoring the small reaper's obviously blatant lie of a reason. "And I'm not saying that because I don't trust you to watch each other's backs or that I don't want this to be over with ASAP. I'm saying this because I'd rather not see any of my friends come back in a casket."

"What should we do then? Sit here and wait?"

"Sit back, relax. Take a breather. Drink, chat, let Nora tell horror stories around a campfire." I affirmed calmly, even when Yang gnashed her teeth. "Evans will hold their plans back long enough and get back to us with confirmation on whether or not his hunch proves true. Trust me, he's very persuasive when he wants to be." The others looked at me with clear disapproval written on their faces, but didn't make to argue. "Till then though, since we're all finally here, we can come up with a strategy on what should and _would_ occur in Haven. And you can't do that without a clear head. With everything that has happened, your thoughts are anything but."

"They're going to be more cautious than ever." Pyrrha warned. "And if what you say about the current headmaster is true, then Haven might be fortified heavily by now."

"Not while class is in session and students there on standby." I replied with a shrug. "They're gonna figure out something's going on if their headmaster is suddenly setting up mercenaries as reinforcements or have some unknowns patrolling the borders. And knowing how... _stubborn_ your generation is," I eyed my three teammates, who looked away and avoided eye contact. "I doubt that they won't do anything about it."

"So," Jaune asked with a raised brow. "Just like that, we take a _well-deserved_ break huh?"

"Just like that." I nodded in confirmation.

...

...

"Great." The blonde knight gave off a strained sigh as his shoulders sagged in relief. "I could use a break after three days of wandering in the woods eating half-cooked meat. Who's hungry?"

"I am!" My small leader shot up from her seat.

"Do you think the bandits have pancakes?"

"Nora!"

My jaw hit the floor faster than a speeding bullet coming out of Cresent Rose.

"Pass." Yang stretched her limbs, popping some kinks out of her neck. "I could do with a change of scenery though. Blakey?"

"I think some fresh air could do me some good. Walk with me?"

"Sure."

Slowly, a warm chuckle made it's way to my lips as I saw their defeated expressions quickly turn into giggles and laughter.

_They're still teens, after all._

_It'll be good to see their smiles..._

_While it lasts._

"...bout you Louis?"

"Pardon?" I shook my thoughts off as I found Ruby beside me.

"I said," Ruby pouted in frustration from my lack of attention. "How about you Louis? What are you gonna do?"

"I... can't really do anything right now." I lifted both arms and gestured to my chest, slowly dragging it down towards the length of my body.

"Bull." Yang waved off. "You could walk just fine."

"Not if I want to make a fast recovery I don't." I deadpanned at her. "My Aura will heal me up and I'll probably be up and running tonight, but for the sake of it, I'm not gonna risk walking around your mom's camp with what might be, a broken rib or two."

"You're no fun." The blonde brawler poked her tongue out as she linked both arms behind her neck. "Come on Blakey, let's go."

Soon, everybody exited the tent as they talked about what they're gonna do next, with Nora asking Ren if Raven served pancakes, and if not, if he would make her some.

_More of a demand if you'd ask me..._

Everybody...

Except for one, red-haired champion.

"Not gonna join your boyfriend for a date?" I asked, laying my back on the walls of the tent, which bent outwards almost immediately due to being made out of leather. "Or the others for that matter? The night is young."

"The sun has yet to set." She pointed out, before letting out a long breath.

She looked... nervous.

"Well," She rubbed her arm with her left hand as she broke the awkward silence. "I wanted to thank you, personally."

"Oh?" I raised a curious brow. "What for?"

"For... getting me and Jaune together," She said, not without specks of pink decorating her cheeks. "He had been... very good company, almost everything I expected him of him."

"Almost?"

"He can get a bit... c-curious at times." Her cheeks flared as her voice started to tremble while she stuttered. "B-but all men of his age do, so it's not his fault. It just caught me off guard more than anything."

"Ah." I nodded in understanding. "Go on."

"I would also like to give you my gratitude for saving my life. Back at the Fall of Beacon." She specified when I sent her a confused look. "I would have died if it weren't for you. And all the other men of Earth." She added after some thought.

"You might've made it out with your head on your shoulders even without my help." I chuckled, and regretted it immediately as the pain in my chest flared. "After all, we'd changed the timeline so that you'd group up during the Fall of Beacon rather than be completely separated while you run around like headless chickens."

"True." She sighed as she herself gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Though had you not come in with that cursed armor, Ruby, who displaced me at the time, may not have made it out alive."

"Don't remind me." I growled under my breath as my expression hardened. "Had I made it on time, it wouldn't have happened at all."

"I'm sorry..."

"You have nothing to apologize for." I held out my hand towards her. "I just... don't want to remember on past hiccups. Makes me feel helpless and desperate, like there's nothing I can do, and that's the last thing I want any one of us to feel even though we're facing against the impossible." I gave her an apologetic smile to show that there was no harm done. "Do feel free to continue though."

"Well... I would also like to thank you... for..."

She gulped as she stopped midway and held her breath.

When it came out, it came out shaky.

"For..."

Again, she stopped.

She tried to compose herself, but failed.

"F...or..."

"For killing Cinder." I finished for her.

The tension in the air was unsettling, and I could see the regretful, yet relived look in her emerald eyes as I completed her sentence.

Slowly, she nodded.

"Are... " Pyrrha gulped. "Are you alright after that?"

"What're you talking about? I'm fine." I replied with a blank stare.

"If you need to talk about it, it's okay." The woman with bronze armor dragged her seat closer to where I am.

We both looked at each other as the room fell into awkward silence once more.

Finally, it was she who broke it, not without making a choked sob first though.

"Every night, after Dwiki foretold my death, I'll have dreams. Flashes of nightmares that flood my senses numb and cause me to wake up in cold sweat, even in Jaune's warm embrace." She chuckled hoarsely as green orbs started to well up. "And after the Fall, I keep on thinking- no, I know, that one day, destiny would finally bring me to meet _her_ once more."

She stared up at the ceiling as dead calmness filled the room once more, with tears flowing at the edge of her eyes, threatening to spill out.

"I knew that one of us would have to go eventually. It was either me or her. It's the destiny of a Huntsman to die in the line of duty, and that's technically what we both are, even if she'd gone rogue. To protect the weak against the darkness and maintain the light." The tears finally slid down her cheeks, making her sniffle as she rubbed a palm across her face. "Yet, now that it finally happened, I'm not sure what to feel if I were the one who took her life. If it were to haunt me for the rest of my life." She added after a pause.

She felt a warm palm creeping up on her shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

When she looked up, green eyes met hard, black ones.

"I did what needed to be done, to protect those I care about. If you're asking as to whether or not I feel like absolute shit, I don't know yet, and even if I do, I don't want to dwell in those thoughts." I answered honestly. "There are more important things to think of, such as the plan of attack, Salem, or whether or not Raven would even tag along with us to unlock the vault."

"You don't even feel a bit guilty?" She asked as she looked up to me. "Even just a little?"

"Of course I do." I balked at the accusation. "And I'm not gonna excuse myself and say it's okay to kill people from here on out without reason. But I did it so that you all wouldn't have to do it. This burden is now mine to carry, and mine alone. Even when you all had a part in it, I delivered the final blow because more people would get hurt if I didn't."

She nodded and sniffled, before she shook her head in understanding as she seemingly shook away such thoughts.

"Thank you." She said as more tears spilled forth. "For everything."

"Hey, what are friends for?" I chuckled heartily as I shook her shoulders playfully. "Now turn that frown upside down and go join the others."

She tried to smile, but it kept falling as she kept sniffling.

I just raised my brow, and she finally broke eye contact in embarrassment.

"What?" I asked.

"I... can't. Not with all these... mixed... emotions."

"Fine," I sighed as I leaned back. "If you want to get rid of those thoughts so badly, I'll extend my offer to spar you tonight."

Her face went through a myriad of expressions, ranging from surprise to confusion to a small hint of delight, before going back to confusion.

"B-but you-"

"Aren't in any state to fight, I know." I said as I made a puppet out of my hand. "But fighting is how you communicate most of the time, isn't it?"

She shot me a confused look, causing me to go on.

"You fight Grimm to vent out frustration. You fight in tournaments because it brings you fame and fortune, even if you were against it. You fight bad guys because it's your responsibility. It's how you communicate, how you talk, how you argue, and how you think. Quite similar yet very different from Yang though." I added, causing her to finally crack a smile.

"Fighting is built into your core, and I can think of no better way to clear your mind than to offer you a spar. Also, don't worry about me. Aura will work wonders, and if your boyfriend could unlock his damn Semblance already he could perhaps help me recover faster. You decide the time and place, I'll be right here. I doubt any of my teammates would allow me to go out unattended anyway."

"That..." She sniffled again, finally smiling a warm, genuine smile. Not that plastic, Pumpkin Pete's smile that she had to flash to fans and her supporters. "That sounds... grand."

"Now go." I gave her a playful push.

_Pyrrha's POV_

That was a welcome relief.

Then again, when had he not been?

"And tell the others to bring me back some food." Louis called out from over her shoulder. "I'm starving!"

"I'll be sure to tell them just that." Pyrrha giggled as she lifted her arm up, causing one of the steel nails holding the tent together to pop loose before heading out.

As she pinned the nail back in place, a shadow caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Who's ther- Blake?"

Feline ears flattened against her head as her shoulders sagged in relief, dragging her back down the length of the tent as she welcomed a rare smile.

She didn't seem to notice that Pyrrha called out to her.

"What are you still doing here?"

"I-I didn't mean to eavesdrop!" She held out her hands frantically, and when Pyrrha just cocked her head, she finally calmed down.

"Then... you heard everything?" The red haired girl asked.

"My faunus traits allow me to." Blake admitted.

...

"Well, it wasn't anything too personal, as long as you can keep a secret then I won't reveal to him that you were listening in." Pyrrha gave a rare, playful poke of her tongue which she could never do in public.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise." Blake said quickly, before all traces of happiness faded from her features and she went blank and mellow.

Then, the edge of her lips tugged downwards into a small frown.

"But I just had to make sure."

Her lips quivered while her shoulders trembled.

_What's with her?_

"Make... sure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Make sure I won't lose him too." The cat faunus gritted out as she stared blankly into the distance. "Not now. Not again. Not like how I'd lost a close friend... so... long ago."

Pyrrha shot her a confused look, but with the way her cat ears flattened against her scalp and the way citrine orbs couldn't meet her eyes, she made no comment to push on.

"Well, if you really are afraid to lose him, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon." The red haired champion shrugged. "I'd suggest you spend time with him alone so that he'll stay."

"I mean, I'm sure he would appreciate it if you'd come into the tent and- Wait, why is your cheeks-" Pyrrha's eyes widened in realization as to what she said while her cheeks started to heat up as well. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Her hands waved out frantically as she tried to correct the misunderstanding. "I meant-"

"I understand." Blake nodded, though her eyes couldn't quite meet hers and her cheeks were still set aflame. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For indirectly asking him for me." She smiled faintly as they started to walk away from the small tent the man was in. As she looked at the skies where the clouds hung low, she said. "I don't think I would be able to ask him myself." She sighed and shook her head. "Truth be told, I'm scared."

"Scared...?"

"Scared..." She visibly shook as her hands curled up into fists. "Of his answer."

_Qrow' POV_

"I'm telling you, we should act NOW!" The unkempt man shouted as he slammed both hands on the wooden table. "You saw what she was capable of! No matter how far you run, no matter how good you hide, she could, and would, go to all four corners of Remnant if she wants to. To find you. Find us."

"..." Raven just knelt there in silence.

"If you're too scared to do it, I'll do it damnit!" He stood up angrily. "Just tell me where the Spring Maiden is, and I'll be on my way. This will be the last time you'll ever see me. Poof, I'm gone."

"And what makes you so confident that Oz would win this time around?" She hissed out the question as she refused to let go of her blade. "He hasn't before, he hasn't the past five life cycles beyond that, and if anything, he'd just sent more adolescent children to their deaths!"

"You can't take what happened to us all those years ago and apply it to them!"

"Why?!" She screamed, almost deafeningly if it weren't for her mask muffling her voice. "Why can't I? Even we can't do it! They're weaker! They're more naive! They're far less suited for combat and they don't know what they're walking into!"

"On the contrary, this time, they do."

Both necks snapped at the direction of the voice so fast, they might've gotten whiplash, but ignored the feeling entirely.

_Louis's POV_

"Yo." I lifted my hand with a two-finger salute as I leaned on the tent for support. "Always good to see a big happy family."

"Stay out of this kid." Qrow snarled. "I'm not doing this for you."

"We're both not doing this for me." I rolled my eyes, before honing them on Raven.

She didn't react in any way, shape or form as I approached them.

"Care to entertain us as to why you don't want to fight on our side?" I asked.

Raven didn't reply but her chest rose and fell, a result of her outburst just mere minutes ago.

"Sure, Ozpin wronged you, I won't deny that. Lied to you, stole your rights as a basic human being, bla bla bla." I drawled on. "But what had Qrow ever done that you wouldn't join him once more? What had Yang ever done to deserve this?"

"What do you know about us?" A frustrated growl emitted from her throat as what I imagined was her eyes under the mask bored into mine.

"A lot more then you would think." I grabbed Qrow's cup which was miraculously still half full from all the table slamming and took a sip of the roasted tea. "But we're not here to talk about me. We're here to help you, so let us."

"Help?" She sliced a hand through the air so fast, it was just a blur to the naked eye, swatting the porcelain cup out of my hands.

It crashed on the wooden floorboards with a thunderous bang.

"All you've done is show _her_ the location of my camp, and brought another Maiden to its place, not to mention, killed one of her pawns." I can hear her teeth gnashing against each other even behind the porcelain cover she wore on her face. "I thought bad luck was my brother's Semblance, but it seems like you inherited it somehow."

"Did I want to be here?" My eyes narrowed as I kept my composure. "You were the one who took me here, remember?"

"And now, I'm starting to regret it."

I scratched the back of my head as I let out an exasperated sigh.

"You could've- no, should've stayed in the tent." She snarled. "Had you did what I'd asked of you, and everything would be just fine. You're weak and frail, that's why you couldn't handle that Maiden alone."

"And you could?" Qrow raised a brow.

His sister ignored it and went on. "Why didn't you just listen?! Why did you have to go out and just make things much more complicated then it already is?"

"Your location was already compromised," I pointed out. "Your identity as one of Ozpin's ex pawns and your reputation as the Bandit Queen of Anima is well known throughout Remnant, and you have yet to reveal to your family as to who you truly are."

Her shoulders visibly stiffened as the grip on her hilt tightened.

"Do you really think you could hide from Salem forever if you keep migrating?" I asked her. "Her Grimm are everywhere. She's gonna find you one way or another. Sure we might've hastened the process a bit," I admitted nonchalantly with an innocent shrug. "But better an upfront battle than a late-night assassination attempt, right?"

"What a coincidence." She hissed under her breath. "The sun is barely on the horizon."

"Relax, I'm on your side." I sighed as I tried to sit cross-legged from my kneeling position which was hurting my joints, but ended up slamming my rear onto the hard wooden floors in such a clumsy way that would have Weiss shaking her head in disappointment. "Despite everything that had happened, I'm not even mad anymore. If I were an assassin sent by her though, it looks like I've lost before the battle even begun. What kind of an assassin would draw attention to himself, then let himself get captured, and camped right at the epicenter of the opposing party anyway?"

"Everything?" The scythe user lifted one leg up and laid an arm across it as he caught onto those very words that came out of my mouth. "Define _everything_."

"She didn't tell you yet?" I raised my brow in return as I swapped incredulous glances between the Brawnwen siblings. Raven didn't even make a move to stop me.

"She tried to..." I tried to find the correct words as my tongue prodded on the inner walls of my cheek. "Defile me."

"She what?!" Qrow groaned into his palms loudly. "Do you have a Brawnwen Xiao Long magnet attached to you or something kid? Why does every. Single. One. Of the women related to me has to be attracted to you in some form or another?!"

"Every single-" My eyes narrowed dangerously. "And where exactly did you hear that from?" My glare turned cold as the messy-haired uncle groaned louder in response.

"Just pick one already kid, I don't think my heart and my mind can take it." The unkempt man blabbered as he looked around desperately. "I need a drink."

"Before you do anything rash, can I say something?"

He gestured for me to go on as if he'd given up on life.

"Yang is like a sister to me and so is Ruby, or... was. She's just... confused at the moment, never having experienced a close friend who's also a guy." I explained flatly. "Can we please get back to the topic at hand? I'll be sure to reprimand Dwiki later."

"And why did you need to ask me as to who gave me this information when you so clearly know the answer already?" He deadpanned.

"Because I wanted to know if you could still think straight." I smirked as I focused my attention back to Raven. "So, what's your answer?"

...

"Qrow, I know you were foolish, but to trust in Oz after all that's happened-"

"I don't."

Raven balked, driven into silence almost immediately, causing Qrow to continue.

"The kid has given me enough reason to doubt him, and with... let's say... solid evidence. There, I said it." He sighed as he took a swig off his canteen. "You were right all along, and I'm sorry I didn't at least bother to listen to you when you needed it most."

She sounded like she didn't know whether to be relieved or taken aback.

"So... " She stared back and forth between me and Qrow. "This... isn't-"

"For Ozpin?" I finished for her. "No, he's doing it for himself. And Ruby. And Yang." I added after counting my fingers. "And so am I. It would be great if you could join us with the Maiden to unlock the vault at Haven. We could really use your help. You saw how powerful they are."

"And what's to stop me from taking that Relic and run far, far away, where Salem couldn't possibly reach it?"

"You've already painted a large target on your back by owning a Maiden." I made sure to stress my points. "Do you really want to add a Relic on top of that that'll attract the creatures of Grimm?" I asked. "You could use the Relic as a Relic or as paperweight, I don't care. But is it really worth the risk?"

"If it means taking it out of Salem's reach, then yes."

"Be my guest." I shrugged, while Qrow's eyes narrowed. "But this camp has better come with insurance or something if you're to be so confident in expelling two bucket loads of blood into shark-infested waters. And trust me, after what we did?" I smirked cockily. "Remnant is about to be flooded with said water."

...

...

Sighing, she slowly placed her palm on her porcelain mask, lifting it off her face and placing in on the table with a loud clank.

She tapped her fingers on the table as she appeared deep in thought.

Crimson eyes sought out mine, boring into the back of my skull as she tried to figure out if I had any hidden motives behind it.

As anticipated, her expression said it all. They show fear.

"Alright." It came out forced with not the slightest hint of trust in her voice. "Where do we start?"

**A/N**

**Actually got this to get out there on time 30 minutes to midnight! Yay!**

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Zetsu-Bunshin: If this chapter hadn't answered it already, it's his Semblance all the way back at chapter 22. He could posses people, as explained in chapter 50 something, but he has to be asleep while doing so. He can't be in 2 bodies at once. I am doing fine in this despite the world being up in flames, I hope you're doing alright too.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Yang would be proud of that one.**

**Gabe2000: I guess you'll just have to wait and see about that one, glad you like her death.**

**DankAnon: Crossdressing Cloud is still best girl imo. Magical girl Ruby might be a bit OP considering that well... she has silver eyes. And I gave her a bit of something here and there in this fic. To add onto that Maiden powers? Are you trying to overrun Remnantpara with cuteness?**

**paradox0.5white: I subconsciously did that xD. I didn't even realize it resembled Thanos's speech till I re read it for grammar and vocab errors. Thanks as always for your kind words! Also, Naruto? How do I Boruto's dad with voiding Aura?**


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N**

**So uh, apparently Evans reminded me that this fic was about to age by a year.**

**Then, one quick look at the damn published date had me reeling back in shock because... _DRUM ROLL_... we passed it.**

**Wait for it...**

**By like... a month.  
**

**Big oops and bigger oof, but happy anniversary! I guess...**

* * *

"So... there we were, in the middle of the night."

"It was day." Ren cut off with closed eyes, letting his long hair trail down the sides of his shoulders as he quietly drank his stew.

"Surrounded by... six-"

"Two."

"Ursa Majors-"

"Small Beowolves and a detached Geist."

"Nora, I think you might wanna get your eyes checked." I chuckled as the faint glow of the shattered moon shone dimly behind me, barely outlining my features, causing the members of both teams gathered around a bonfire to spin around and look in my direction.

I gave a two-finger salute in response.

"Wait, you're not supposed to be moving." Blake stood up suddenly with the food on her lap nearly spilling off the sides.

"But how?! I glued-"

"Ah ah ah." I waved my finger at Ruby's slip up and smirked knowingly at her, making her shrink to the log that she sat on, averting her gaze to her lap with a furious blush.

Sat to her left, was her sister, who was listening in halfheartedly and looked like she could use the distraction, along with Blake, who slowly bent her knees to sit back down, and lastly Nora, who was waving her hands around to tell her flamboyant tales to the crew, to her right.

"I'm fine." I said, advancing forward while hopping on one foot. "Just a bit more time and I'll be back to fighting shape."

"As much as I'd hate to be here." Yang's lilac eyes flared crimson for a brief second as it flicked to her mother's tent. "You need the time to recover."

"Give it a rest, I'm fine." I waved off as I reassured them. "Really. And if it makes you feel any better, I'll be in your line of sight for the next few hours. Can't I just stay here and," I bent my knees into a crouch as I set myself next to the boys. "Enjoy a good meal, y'know, spend some time with some friends?"

Ruby sent a quizzical look my way, then threw an expectant one at Blake, who looked at Yang in return.

In the end, they sighed as their shoulders relaxed, with Yang shrugging hers off.

"Smells good," I smiled honestly at their final conclusion. "What's cookin Doc?"

"Chicken stew with braised rice." He grunted over his shoulder from his makeshift stove as he poured another portion into a large, wooden bowl. "I'll fatten y'all so much you can't walk tomorrow."

"That's... a bit..."

"Extreme." I finished for the cat faunus, before I laughed as I took a bowl that was passed down the line. "He's just joking. Though he wasn't kidding when he said his cooking was addicting. The best chef we've got in our little fuck ups we call a crew."

"You're gonna make me cry." I could feel him rolling his eyes, even as his back faced me. "Oh wait, those were the onions."

"Real funny." I scoffed back as I took a sip.

As expected, the broth was well seasoned with salt and pepper, with a tangy taste of what I assumed was turmeric, shallots, star anise, and some soy sauce, making a rich and dark flavor that invaded my taste buds.

"Looks like you might have a contender Renny." Nora giggled as she elbowed Ren, who recoiled immediately from the sheer force she put into her side jab.

"We all have our specialties." Ren coughed and hacked, the unnatural reaction looking strange from the usually calm and stoic man. "This is good," He admitted. "But nobody can beat Oniyuri's egg pancake with flakes of-"

"Okonomiyaki? Made that a thousand times before, a bit flimsy for a main dish though. More of an appetizer."

"Oko... nomo... what?" Yang asked, but before I could answer, a loud clatter filled our ears.

My eyes darted to where my teammates were sat, where Ruby and Blake were leaning backward to avoid...

_Uh oh..._

The eastern gunman's shoulders visibly stiffened as his left eye twitched beneath his pink lock.

He slowly stood up with half his face darkened in the shadows cast by the shattered moon, and slowly but surely, rotated his shoulders at the fat man's direction, and slowly advanced.

"I propose... a COOKOFF!"

With the eastern gunman out of commission, I took it upon myself to stop the orange-haired bombard.

"Nora... " I pinched my nose ridge from the headache I could feel was just mere moments from crashing my thoughts. "No."

"Nora Yes!"

"A cookoff? With whom-?" The portly man spun around to see Ren standing not a meter away from him, fastening the straps of his 'Please do nothing to the cook' apron on.

_He brought that along with him?! _

To my horror, the edges of Kevin's lips slowly tugged into a challengingly cocky smirk, before he spun his head towards us.

Dwiki leaned back to Derrick, who, in turn, leaned back onto me.

Simultaneously, we shook our heads as fast as we could.

"Get a load of this guy." Kevin pointed back with a wooden ladle on hand, before he faced Ren once more. "Are you sure?"

"I will not have my family dish, which recipe has been passed down from generations to be insulted." Ren's murderous eyes glinted in the evening sky as he prepared another bonfire a few meters away. "Chose your next dish properly, Kevin of Earth, for it will be the last you will ever make."

"Ack..." I scooted over to the very edge of the log, before I saw lighting spat between their eyes.

"Okay pinkie, your words, not mine." Kevin slammed the lid onto the pot with a loud clang, before setting it aside and placing a wok atop of the makeshift stove.

"I think that's our queue to get out of here..." I offered, but Ruby just seemed to jitter and shake excitedly in her seat.

"Agreed." Blake nodded as she stood up, before Yang leaned forward, towering over Ruby's shoulder as she tried to book front row seats for the both of em.

I looked over her shoulders to Jaune that was tiptoeing behind them, who was, like Ruby, cheering Ren on as he started to wipe off a cleaver, while the boys seemed to forget about the pressure in the air they felt merely minutes prior, and started to cheer Kevin on as he cleared a log for a clean cutting board.

"My money's on the fat one!"

"But the one with the pink hair... is of Mistralanian origin. He'll win for sure!"

"You only choose him cause that's where you came from!"

"N-No it's not! Wait, we're all from Mistral you idiot!"

As I spun around to identify the source of the banter, I now see that there are ten or so bandits standing directly behind me as they gave toothy grins, with some of them missing some on their top row, others at the bottom.

_When... the... fuck?!_

"I don't know what these kids are capable of." Vernal joined in as two bandits parted aside to make room for her, seemingly forgetting my presence or purposely ignoring the glare I was giving her in order to save some of her dignity. "But whatever they're cooking, it's bound to be better than what any of us lot can rack up."

_How does she openly admit that with a straight face?!_

She spread her arms out wide as she snickered and announced. "Tonight, the Brawnwen camp, will FEAST!"

A chorus of cheers erupted as more bandits spilled out of their tents dotting the camp and joined the betting pool.

_Yeah... now it's definitely time to get out of here!_

I didn't know if I said it aloud or if they pieced the puzzle on their own, but I pointed sideways for the sake of it towards the few remaining people of both teams who I hoped were logical enough to act on their own, while the raucous laughter started to skyrocket in volume, booming from all around me, making me feel like I'm surrounded in a sea of people in an opening night of a concert.

Not waiting for any further instructions, I bolted over towards where the thinnest crowd gathered.

Slick sweat overloaded my senses as I plowed through the pungent smell of bad oral hygiene and oily skin, taking all my strength not to inhale and causing my face to turn both blue and green. When I finally made it out of the thick miasma that somehow didn't affect the people emitting it, I dashed a good thirty or so meters away before taking one, good look at the crowd to make sure none noticed me enough to push me back in, and sighed lightly.

_Dangit Kev._

Leave it to him to get the job done when it involves culinary.

"Well, at least we won't start off with an empty stomach tomorrow." I chuckled to myself as I patted my limbs to make sure I was still in one piece.

Knowing him, he'd probably make a batch that'll last till next week.

_Hopefully Ren could keep up with his... antics._

From a small distance, I started to hear heels clacking against the pebbles, and when I made to look up, meeting my gaze, was a familiar pair of emerald eyes.

"Not gonna cheer your teammate on?" I asked as I jabbed a thumb behind me where the bandits had started to slam their weapons into each other to make a mix of thudding and clanging sounds that'll rival a riot any day.

"I've been in more than enough crowds throughout my lifetime." She giggled honestly as she grabbed both my arm and my back and helped me stand upright. "And even if I'm not the center of attention this time around, standing in crowded places for too long can get a little... claustrophobic."

"Thanks." I sniffed my body odor that seemingly already mingled with theirs.

A quick glance at the champion had her lips quivering and her eyes watering as she tried not to bend double either laughing or hurling.

"Urk... " I belched as I attempted to hold my breath in. "We might as well do it now before I take a shower."

"Oh?" She raised a questioning brow as all expression faded from her face. "I'd thought you'd all but forgotten about your promise."

"Should I have?" I raised a brow back at her.

"No, but you'd look worse for wear."

"I think I'm good to go all things considered." I rotated my shoulders and cracked my neck from side to side. "It's just a bad knee, and I can still walk. Won't matter too much in a spar unless we're trying to draw blood."

"I'll be sure not to aim for it then-"

"Don't."

"I'm... sorry?" The red-haired champion sent a concerned frown my way as I stared at her. "B-but..."

"Don't hold back." I repeated as I started to stand on my own. "This is for you after all. It's best you'd be well prepared for what's to come, and you're gonna need a clear head for that."

She looked at me judiciously, before she sighed and nodded back with a respectful yet uncertain smile plastering her face.

"You know, usually people try to hide their weaknesses from their opponents, while you reveal it. You're a strange one, Louis of Earth."

"Don't give me any of that." I laughed back. "Besides, I'd prefer it if I don't have anything to rely on."

"Why?"

I could only shrug back honestly as I thought of the reason. "Because then people could rely on me without being too disappointed."

All of a sudden, she froze when we reached the tall, wooden gates, shoulders tense and eyes widening as she realized precisely where I was taking her.

Her grip rattled on Milo as she saw the charred clearing mere minutes beyond the piked walls of the camp.

"What's wrong?" I called out over my shoulder when I noticed that the red-haired champion was no longer by my side.

"This location... is..." I heard her mutter under her breath behind me.

...

"Yes, it's where I had my fight yesterday." I answered nonchalantly, causing her to somehow look more aghast. "We cleared a ton of trees and bushes along the way, making this area the perfect place for you to use your Semblance, Polarity. If you choose to, no pressure." I said quickly when her jaw dropped. "And a lot more moving space for both of us to dart around in..." I gestured around us. "Making the perfect battleground. Don't ya think?"

She stared blankly at me and blinked owlishly a few times, before it turned into a smile and made her place a hand over her mouth to cover her not-so-subtle giggle.

"What?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Y-you're not doing this _just_ for me are you?" She accused once her laughter died down and she managed to compose herself. "You need to get some things off your mind too."

The edges of my lips tugged into a smile as the champion seemed to relax under my gaze, and started to limber up.

_Blake's POV_

_"Might as well do it now before I take a shower."_

Blake's cat ears twitched as her head echoed the part of the conversation her feline ears had picked up.

_"Don't hold back."_

_Hidden Weaknesses?_

_"This is for you."_

_Nothing to rely on...?_

"What are you up to... Louis?" The robes fluttered against the night wind as she stalked her prey from beyond the treelines.

If this wasn't suspicious at all, her name had to be Jaune.

She was not jealous.

Not at all.

She was just...

Confused.

Yes, that was it.

Confused, and very, very curious.

Curious as to why Pyrrha is dragging him out into the woods.

...

Alone.

Late in the evening, after their meal, and to... 'Spar'.

She was sure she'd heard of something along those lines when she eavesdropped on his tent earlier in the day, but what kind of a 'Spar' would he do with an injured knee?

And he's doing it for her... to get her mind off some... things.

Woods...

Together...

Being pushed with her back against the rough tree bark as he spread her legs apart and-

The raven-haired girl shook off her thoughts of her previous dream that her treacherous mind decided to replay with Pyrrha replacing her image, furthermore vivid by the books she had read.

_No. _

_Bad mind. Bad._

She patted her cheeks to drag her mind out of the gutter, focusing back on the pair who was making their way to the clearing.

_There was no way they're doing... that. _

_... Right?_

It's just her being paranoid again, just like the White Fang, her teammates not accepting her, and Adam.

No, no. There's no way he's going to get down and dirty with... Pyrrha.

...

Who he'd rescued by getting rid of... Cin...der...

Pyrrha's a nice girl right? She won't do that.

No. She won't, not unless she felt in...debted...

And felt that somehow, said person... needs to be re...warded.

After being saved not once but... Twice.

Her eyes snapped open in realization.

With a snarl peeling her lips, she dashed from one tree to another.

She'd knew Pyrrha was acting a bit off ever since they regrouped back up, and Jaune seemed to be keeping his distance as well.

And they're doing this right after everybody's busy with the cookoff Nora proposed too.

As she leaped from one branch to another, she made sure to always keep hidden beneath the shadows as she kept a close eye on them at all times.

Slowly, amber eyes narrowed into slits as she eyed them like a prying Nevermore waiting to swoop down on it's prey.

_Louis's POV_

Pyrrha stretched her arms, the muscles she had hidden beneath plates of armour contracting and relaxing with each pull under her pale, smooth skin, the athletic figure accentuating the curviness of her body with each movement she made, especially with the space that revealed her midsection.

It wasn't massively muscular where the fat was burned to the point where veins were jutting out like most female wrestlers, but lean, just right at the point where her abs were barely visible under her naval, somehow eerily similar to Yang, who works out three times a day, five times a week.

I tried hard not to look as I walked over about twenty or so meters away, and started to stretch some kinks out of my own joints with some satisfying pops.

Jaune's girlfriend or not, she was still a woman.

And a fine woman she was.

_Stupid seventeen-year-old hormones._

All those years of self-training and competitions, and the fact that she had to appear in all those merchandises like cereal boxes and clothing and TV commercials made her keep her figure, which was at it's prime as any fit marathon runner.

"Whenever you're ready." I called out as I checked my wrist for my StarDust in case I had to use it.

_Quarter..._

_Not that bad, considering how much we'd need to exhaust in order to fight that bitch._

Pyrrha took out both Milo and Akouo for view, and lifted the circular disc of a shield in front of her as she peeked emerald eyes right above it. Her signature spear was held tilted to her side, ready to jab anything that gets too close with the force of a harpoon.

A spartan's stance.

"Heh." I chuckled as I lifted Requiem from over my shoulder, dispatching it from my back as I swatted it to my side, causing the crisp grass beside me to crackle and disintegrate into ashes.

I bent my knees as I eyed the red-haired champion. The greatsword looked very heavy for the untrained, but for me, the weight was perfectly balanced with the hollow StarDust generator in the middle.

"I knew it was right to give you that helmet." I smiled honestly. "Haven't seen you use it yet though."

"I'd like to keep my sights peripheral." She gave an apologetic shrug in return. "Besides, enemies won't always attack from only one direction."

"You do you champ." I shrugged back at her while I looked at her dead on. "I'm just saying it looks good on you."

Her cheeks burned on my compliment.

"T-thank you." She cleared her throat before she composed herself, and squared her knees as well.

The night breeze gently brushed against my boots and trousers, causing more blades of grass to break away from their bodies and flutter upwards, melding with the evening night air that gently brewed across the grasslands.

I took one step forward.

She backpedaled a step.

_Focusing... on defense?_

"Well aren't you an observant one." I grinned. "Then again you know what they say. Opposites attract."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." I can see her grinning back at me even with the raised circular shield in place. "Also, you don't get called the Invincible Girl by doing nothing."

_She has a good eye as to what I can do and when I can do it._

And I have a pretty good grasp as to what she could and couldn't do with that Semblance of hers.

...

I circled her for the next few minutes as I tried to see if her concentration would break.

It didn't.

She eyed me like a hawk the whole way as she tried to keep her distance over me, keeping the range between us more or less the same as to when we started.

"When facing a larger, more dominant opponent, we will let them make the first move." She explained when she saw my focused yet exasperated look as I tried to find an opening. "And when they strike, we deflect it-"

"Making them miss, and punish them accordingly without overcommitting yourselves."

She balked as no words came out of her mouth.

"H-how did you?"

"Believe it or not, as stupid or childish as it may sound, it's the same concept in fighting games." I shrugged nonchalantly. "It's also the same concept I use to attempt to predict what moves Yang and Ruby would make in sparring, and how Cinder, or any other Grimm, would react. Basic combat knowledge, they say."

_It wasn't as if Evans punished me by taking down half my health bar every... damn...time I tried to commit to a complicated combo._ I laughed internally. _Yeap, not at all._

"So, you're gonna let me take the first step huh?" I asked.

"Knowing how well you fight with your weapons, you tend to go for the straightforward approach and charge your opponents head on." She admitted with a small nod as her shoulders started to tense up for the oncoming impact. "Just like the case of Yang and Nora."

"Man, I feel so exposed." I admitted back with a sheepish grin as I scratched the back of my head, before it turned into a lopsided smirk. "But I think you would find sparring me quite different than facing them."

"And why is that?" She raised a brow.

I smirked. "Because I do something they don't."

Without warning, the tip of my sword found itself on the flat of her shield, clanging loudly and causing her arms to rattle and for her to grit her teeth from the overwhelming impact.

"I improvise." I whispered as the bottom of my foot met the pommel of Requiem to further drive the champion back by a few feet, though she remained sturdy and stood her ground while her heels dug into the dried mud with a chain of loud crackling noises.

"Impressive." She complimented as she thrust the spear forward to drive me back, lime green eyes widening as I did the unpredictable and spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick aimed for her head.

I dropped to the ground.

"Using your Semblance this early?" I chuckled when I found the dark blade was no longer by my side to act as a foothold, but instead stuck steadfast to the ground on my left, with the flat end of it facing downward.

"Must mean I'm that good huh?"

"You're more of an offensive fighter than I thought." Pyrrha's shield fell to her side, no longer seeing a purpose for it. "But how is your defense?"

In an instant, I found the tip of her spear on my side, grazing my Aura and my clothing, before the edge of her shield was brought down with enough force to make a hole in the ground.

Dumbfounded, I rolled sideways to avoid another strike, before I extended my leg to get her heel and managed to stand upright, dusting the specs of dust and mud caking my clothing.

She recoiled, but I knew my strike had the desired effect when she took a few steps back and readied her shield once more.

I raised my fists up, knowing I wouldn't be getting my sword back anytime soon, with her Aura still close to full, and closed the distance.

A barrage of punches and kicks were thrown into her midsection, causing her block it with Akouo, before she returned it with an elegant twist of her wrist and with a twirl of her body, brought the red spear down to strike me.

I sidestepped before striking her knee, causing the spear to implant itself into the ground and making her bend and stagger, before I leaped back from the upward strike she did with Milo at hand.

What I didn't see coming however... was the dirt that erupted from the ground and was rapidly advancing to my face.

"Fuck!"

"Oh!" I heard from the blurry tears that were instinctively coming out as a reaction from the irritation. "Ah... uh, a-are you okay? I'm sorry!"

"I'm fine." I growled back as I staggered to stand upright. "In fact, that's good." I added after a second thought. "That's very good."

"How- Please don't go anywhere, I'll get hel-"

Through the wavy silhouette, I could see her tilt her head in confusion as she reached out for me. "In a fight, you'll soon learn that everything and anything is a weapon. Not every fight is going to be fair..."

"B-but..."

"Didn't I say don't hold back?" I raised my fists to ready myself, even when I can feel the white in my eyes turning red and irritant. "Come on! Come at me like you mean it!"

I saw her hesitate.

I charged forward with a quick dash as I sent another flurry of fists and kicks, causing her to raise Akouo again to defend herself.

This time however, I didn't attack from just one spot, but sidestepped to deliver fast strikes before moving back in place and doing the same. Pyrrha, in turn, had to shift her shield to match my direction, and though the disc rattled, her posture remained unmoving.

Somewhere along the line, Milo had shifted to its gladius form, and with the new weighted balance at her hand, swept at the ground.

"What will you do if it was her coming after you?" I asked as I landed my right footon the tip of her blade, stomping the blade so that it lay planted within the ground, before ramming my other foot at the grip, causing it to fall to the ground with a mighty clatter and for her to wince in pain.

A light sheen of sweat started to appear on the champion, and her face was unreadable from up close.

No, it was very much readable.

I just didn't care.

"What will you do if she comes after Jaune or the others?!" I asked as I delivered a roundhouse kick which landed on both her bracers, driving her back step by step.

I spun around to deliver a backhanded strike, causing her to put both her hands on her shield to defend herself, but to no avail.

Her heels skidded against the ground until her back hit one of the trees around us.

"Louis..." She breathed out. "Wh... Why-"

Her arms fell limp as her eyes widened in fear.

"Would you sit there and wait... call for a time out?" I asked as I clenched my fingers into a fist as it threatened to destroy my Aura. "Or would you give it your all, your life, every drop of blood you have flowing through your body, to protect... them?"

Suddenly I felt exhausted as anger and pain flooded out of me, causing me to reach onto the sharp pain emanating from my thighs.

"Grk..." I crumpled on the ground, falling to one knee, and used it for support to try and get back up.

"Louis!"

Searing pain flooded all over my body as I fell to the ground gritting my teeth, as my blood boiled under my skin and pain flared all across my body, numbing my senses and causing my muscles to cramp up.

"Damnit..." I snarled.

_Not again..._

"Can't believe it got loose." I gnashed my teeth as my hand slammed on the ground. "Damnit!"

Slowly, a shadow lengthened, looming over me.

"Is this... " The voice was faded and soft. "Was this ever a spar?"

Golden heels then filled my vision as I found Pyrrha standing beside me, fearfully looking down on me with a lightly dented shield in front of her like I was a feral and untamed beast.

She was scared.

_Understandable._

"It was." I answered as I tried to get up once more, but limply fell sideways instead. In the end, I settled on just sitting hunched.

"I'm sorry." This time it was I who apologized as I broke eye contact. "I let it get out... " I growled under a muttered breath.

"_It_ as in..." She gasped in realization. "I... I didn't know! I'm sorry! If I'd known I would've never-"

"Save it." I held out my hand to stop her. "I was the one who asked for a spar, you didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do. If anything it should be the other way around."

This time, I looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.

Her eyes had softened, and her expression still in a state of shock however, way less fearful, all while her body was more relaxed.

"Did I hurt you?"

"You would've if Aura wasn't a thing." Pyrrha admitted with a relieved sigh.

After a few moments, her shoulders slumped.

"You're a scary opponent." The red-haired champion admitted as she finally felt comfortable enough to let her shield down. "Nobody I faced before you had such tenacity, such stamina, such... determination."

"Tell that to Jaune once you've 'fought' him." I quoted the air, causing the lightly armored champion to melt into her usual, nervous mess as her cheeks went ablaze.

She stuttered, stammered, and fidgeted, but finally calmed down if only a little when I laughed loudly.

With the tension finally draining out of the air, she finally settled down next to me as she bunched up her knees to her face, and seemingly... sulked.

After a few minutes of where only silence passed, she finally spoke.

"Am I..." She bunched her knees closer to her face, sinking further into her train of thought. "Really that...that naive to think that all would be fair in a fight?"

"It's not wrong."

Her face tilted sideways to meet my gaze.

"It's not wrong." I repeated after myself as I stretched my legs outwards, using both my arms to prop my body as I looked up at the starless sky.

"In an ideal world, we would've still been students in a normal school, normally studying Oobleck's fast-paced history lessons and Port's boring Grimm anatomies. You guys would've hung out in malls or at bars, Yang." I added after she made to point out they were too young to do so. "And maybe graduate in the next two years or so, probably pop your cherries somewhere along the way, and then find work as Grimm exterminators or behind the table as secretaries and accountants."

"That..." Her tongue prodded the inner walls of her cheek, attempting hard to keep her blush in as she tried to find the correct words. "That does sound like how I imagined it would go when I decided to enter Beacon, yes."

"So did Weiss when she left Atlas, or Blake when she left the White Fang, and Jaune when he left home." I chuckled at her shocked expression. "What? Think you're the only one trying to rebel against destiny and fate?"

"I..." She trailed off.

"You were taught with the school system from birth," I continued. "Where everything had to be the way they are because it just is. And if it isn't? You would say it's preposterous. How could the teachers you know so well be wrong, right?" I sighed at I eyed the puffy cloud that was slowly drifting past the shattered moon. "Back to the topic at hand, you fight based on how much Aura you have, how much you need to pull your punches not to break one's ribs, and how fighting with a certain style would counter and can overtake another's to secure you a win, etcetera."

"I... guess you're right."

"Not to say you still can't do that." I added when she let out a defeated sigh. "Both me and Evans are making sure you guys still could still adjust to the current situation at hand. If everything is doom and gloom, then Salem had already won," I stretched my hands and let out a pained groan. "The White Fang had already won, Weiss's dad had already won, and we're no longer fighting for the right reasons."

"If even you people, who are accustomed to fighting Grimm be default weren't prepared for this, then how could we," I gestured back to the rough direction of the camp. "Mere people from Earth, be any more prepared?"

She said nothing and instead decided to sink further into her knees.

"Again, none of you should have to face this at your age, none of us should." I smiled bitterly. "But it's the world we live in right now, and I'm not about to just give it all up without a fight." I glanced at the red haried girl out of the corner of my eyes. "Are you?"

"O-of course not!" She perked up with an accused look on her face, causing me to chuckle at the embarrassed expression that followed up afterward.

"You may not have said it out loud," I snorted and snickered. "But you're actually more similar to Ruby than I'd thought."

"In what way?"

"You rely too much on your Semblance to protect you while she relies too much on her weapon." I answered, causing her to balk away, stunned at the realization. "Which would be okay, and almost will always secure you a victory in any fair fight, since the purpose of it is for the glory and fame instead of trying to draw blood. Add on to that the fact that almost all weapons are always made out of metal, and you have the perfect tool, your Semblance Polarity, to manipulate your battleground."

A quick look to her had her averting her gaze with flushed cheeks as if she was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"But in a life and death situation where being disarmed or having your Aura stripped away in an instant means death," My own expression hardened. "Well..."

An eerie silence fell over us the moment I mentioned _death_ as the distant sounds of cheering filled our ears.

...

"What's with you and Jaune?"

"Hm?" If anything, she looked to be glad by the change in topic as she tilted her head my way.

"Jaune." I echoed. "You two seemed... awkward right after the fight with fire bitch. Also, you flinched when I mentioned his name earlier." I added. "What happened?"

"Its... nothing." Pyrrha replied with her lips tugging down into a frown.

...

"I swear if you two break up right after me and Evans try so hard to get you toget-"

"Okay maybe it's... something." She admitted in response to my rant.

...

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," She said with a scoff and... was that a pout she's doing right now?

Then, green eyes peeked over her knees. "But now... may be a better time than any, and I really don't think anybody's more suitable to talk about this other than you."

"Me?" I gestured at myself. "What's so special about this case that you need to approach _me_ of all people?"

"Well you or Evans." The red-haired girl added. "But Evans isn't really in the spot to talk to us, and so..."

I waited patiently as I went back to looking at the puffy clumps of cotton candy in the sky.

"This may sound selfish of me, especially the situation we're in right now where we're about to face the Queen of all Grimm but..." She sucked in a deep breath.

"Louis," I heard her audibly gulp when she finally spoke. "You're... a guy... right?"

"Last time I checked, yes." I answered with a raised brow.

"Of course you are," She giggled and I heard the sound of flesh against flesh as she patted her cheeks to wake herself up. "What am I saying."

Another minute or so passed.

"If... a guy... " She started with a hesitant stammer. "L-Likes a girl..."

I nodded.

"H-how long do you think they should take until they decide the time is right to... d-do it?"

For some reason, that one sentence from her mouth made her blush furiously.

"Do it?" My brow arched higher.

"Y-you know..." She looked away with a reddened face, as if regretting asking the question in the first place. "It."

Her blush seemed to intensify even further, tinting her cheeks the same color as her hair.

Wait...

My mind whirled into the gutter to make out any other explanation she meant other than... that.

There weren't any.

_Jaune wants to do WHAT?_

My jaw dropped.

I can feel my own cheeks heating up as the temperature seemingly increased in the cold evening air.

This is as bad as giving someone like Ruby The Talk.

However... I had to make sure.

Clearing my throat by coughing into a balled-up fist, I asked.

"Sex?" I asked back as flatly as I could put out without stammering.

For some reason, at that same time, I heard a branch crackle and possibly snap somewhere to my left.

_Blake's POV_

_No._

_No no no._

_This can't be happening._

"They can't seriously be doing it right here... " She hissed through her gnashed teeth.

It was impossible...

_He can't be thinking of choosing Pyrrha over me or... Ruby._

As much as she'd hate to admit it the red hooded leader seemed to also have an effect on him.

She didn't mind if he didn't choose her, but to take Pyrrha, who already had Jaune?

She'd never thought him as that kind of man.

_..._

Why did he ask for a one on one session back at the base at Vale?

Why did he say that he'd thought her more than just a friend?

Why did he give her... false hope?

Was it all just a farce so that he wouldn't hurt her?

Then, her thoughts decide to betray her as it pointed out the harsh truth.

_I'm an ex terrorist with a really bad criminal record._

_She's a well known four time Mistral Champion, had her picture in front of her very own cereal, and an idol with a figure most would die for._

Slowly, her eyes widened in realization as her ears flattened against her head.

This can't be happening...

Not again.

Slowly, she bunched her feet against the tree bark as she leaned in to listen to the conversation taking place.

_But... why?_

Tears stung the edge of her eyes as her chest tightened.

She had to know.

...

Even if it's gonna feel like a knife twisting into her gut.

_Louis's POV_

"What... was that?"

"What was what?" Pyrrha asked.

"That." I replied as I looked around us.

_Could've sworn I heard something crackle and some soft sniffling._

There was nothing but large trees whistling to the wind and the distant sound of loud cheering emanating from the camp.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." I answered after taking one more good look around us. "Maybe I'm starting to hear things after Cinder beat on my head too much." I admitted as I patted my ears to make sure they were functioning properly. "Anyway, you were saying?"

_Right,_ I pondered on how to answer her.

_It's normal, and they're technically... legal._

"I... don't think I'm in a position to answer that." I replied slowly as I finally got the strength to get up. "I've never really been in a relationship, and even if I am, I don't even know where to start."

Slowly, the evening breeze brewed past us, sending strands and locks of hair to flutter past our face.

"But if he wants to do... _it_ with you," I chuckled lightly as I tried to keep my blush down. "It must mean Jaune had thought it through and through."

"He... did?" I heard her ask meekly, muted by her knees.

"He may seem like an idiot. Your idiot." I added, making her face flush. "But I'm sure he'd commit to anything he's ever put his mind to. Like training to be better."

"He does devote his time and effort to our training..." I can see her biting her bottom lip.

She looked conflicted.

_She wants him, she's certain he's the one. But it is a big step in their relationship..._

_I can see why she needs to talk to someone about it. _

_But me of all people?_

"He's a teen, you both are." I pointed out. "I'm not telling you how and when you should throw away your... V card." I said as I attempted to make it sound easy on the ears.

It didn't.

"Or whether you should throw it away willy nilly." I added after a moment of thought. "But we both know Jaune. He could be dense. Very dense," I sniggered while my shoulders rose and fell. "And a complete dunce sometimes, and rash to make decisions."

"Sounds about right." She giggled in agreement.

"But he's not your leader for nothing," I finished. "And if Jaune and you do end up uh... you know..." I scratched the back of my neck. "An offspring."

"O-offspring?" She tried to hide her mortified face with her hands to cover her cheeks which had blended with her hair for what little good it did. "A-A b-baby?! That's a bit too sudden!"

"Then we, as both teams and the boys, will fully support it." I smiled back at her as I ignored the frantic hand motions she's making and the flustered whimper mixed with a squawk she's emitting. "He made his choice, and I'll have to respect that. What's yours?"

"I..." Even with her cheeks on fire, Pyrrha finally stood upright with a warm and radiant smile embracing her face. "I knew I made the right decision coming to you."

"You were the first person ever to make me ever doubt destiny, strange, coming from someone bound to ours." The red-haired champion chuckled as all doubts were seemingly wiped from her mind.

"Glad I could help." I grinned. "Though next time, I think Ren could do better."

"If he wasn't locked in combat with one of yours perhaps I could've." She smirked raised a brow back at me. "But, all jokes aside, I really think you do give off better advice."

"Perhaps I should get a job as a counselor once all this is over." I rolled my eyes, causing her to laugh light-heartedly and extend an arm.

I looked at it weirdly, before meeting her gaze once more.

I reached out and gave it a firm, solid shake.

"Stalemate, Invincible Girl?"

"Stalemate." She winked back. "Umbra."

"Was a good spar, ten out of ten would do again."

"I wouldn't." She frowned at her slightly dented and scratched shield as she used her Semblance to summon both our weapons back to our hands, which I caught mid-air and holstered. "By the way..."

"Hm?"

"You said you've never been in a relationship before, but you know a certain cat faunus in our group likes you... right?" Her eyes begged for me to say yes.

_She's not the only one..._ I wanted to say, but that doesn't seem to be the answer she was seeking.

"My name has to be Jaune if I didn't know after her mouth violated mine." I admitted freely, though not without my own cheeks flaring up. "After the Fall of Beacon where everything is in shambles, I'm really glad she actually has some form of interest in me after that kind of betrayal. And here I am, just trying to take my time and piece things together. I'll let her know I like her back when the time is right, just... really confused on what to do right now."

"Well," Pyrrha grinned from ear to ear. "She's glad too."

The soft sniffling stopped completely.

I knew it wasn't just my imagination.

"You know..." I stated loudly. "If this is going to be how you are from here on out, we're gonna have a problem."

...

Nothing.

"Come out Blakey," I was shouting now. "It's okay, I'm not mad."

A white-cladded figure dropped from the trees thirty meters to our right, and Blake looked up into my eyes with fearful, gleaming eyes.

"Crying again?" I asked with my hand finding itself on my forehead. "What did I do this time?"

"I'll give you some time alone, and make sure to be safe with protection by your side."

"PYRHHA!"

"What?" She spun around suddenly. "Oh, I didn't mean to imply... I mean..."

"It's... alright," My shoulders rose and fell while my cheeks brightened. "Just... head back." I ushered with a wave of my hand that I hoped wasn't taken the wrong way. "We'll catch up.

"Uhm... okay." She quickly made her way out of our sights.

"H-how long have you known?" She asked as she looked up into my eyes.

Her smooth skin glinted in the evening light while her amber eyes shone. Her feline ears were flat against her head as her white robe flapped against the wind.

"Ever since you arrived. I've gotten used to it back at home base, while Pyrrha noticed your presence during the fight." I scoffed as I wrapped my charred and battered vest on her. "Here, you're gonna catch a cold with that paper-thin cloak on ya."

"You're mean..."

"What do you mean I'm mean?" I asked with a raised brow. "I didn't do shit to warrant tears from you."

"You... t-took Pyrrha... to... spar..." She looked away frowning. "Alone..."

"Spar means spar." I jabbed my finger on the ground to drive my point home. "I never had any 'ulterior motives' you might have thought up, and I didn't play with your heart if you didn't mean anything to me." I sighed as I palmed my head once more. "Could you please,_ please_ learn to trust me? I know you've had a bad experience with Adam in the past, but if we're going to do this, I'm going to need you to trust me."

The cat faunus pouted and looked away in return.

"I'll take that as a yes." I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her stomach. "You worry too much sometimes, y'know that?"

"I've been told that by a lot of people, Yang included." She finally sighed into my embrace as she faced me. "I just... don't know. I haven't felt this way since... since-"

"Since Adam."

She nodded into my chest.

"It's going to be a while for me to adjust to it. To learn to trust someone again."

"Understandable, I guess." I answered as I stroked her hair and watching her fluffy ears twitch and making her... purr?

_Damnit..._

_Don't squeal._

_Control yourself._

"A-anyways," I coughed into a balled-up fist. "Who won?"

"I didn't stay to look."

"Well looks like somebody had," I pointed out. "Because there's not much noise left. Do you wanna head back? I asked as I looked down.

Slowly, she shook her head.

"Do you just wanna stay here a bit longer? Like this?"

She didn't give a reply, with the only sounds being the air that was coming out of her nostrills.

With a heavy sigh, I slowly crouched and took a seat on the black clearing, making the grass beneath us crackle and pop as blades fluttered into specs of dust and ashes.

As I looked up at the shattered moon which pieces of debris had somehow not floated away yet in the vacuum of space, I wondered aloud.

"What the hell did I just get myself into?"

* * *

**A/N**

**Aaaaaand, done! On time. Yay!**

**Also, not a cliffhanger for once. Yay!**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

**You know the drill.**

* * *

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Do you mean that as in for the headache that's about to come in future chapters? Or do u mean that as in I should've made Raven rub her temples or the space between her eyes at the end of said chapter?**

**paradox0.5white: Ah ok, was confused for a sec there. I wonder what that'll look like, a mix of Amber with Emerald. One thing's for sure, any combination will still end up hot.**

**DankAnon: Well, good luck with the cuteness overload, pretty sure most people in the world need it right now. I... would probably shapeshift into... Yes, that sounds just about right. As much as I would like the typical harem route, we'll just have to see how this plays out.**


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N**

**Okay, fine.**

**I've finally had it.**

**You guys want it so badly huh? **

**Fine!**

**Here ya go ya bloody shippers!**

**Patch notes at bottom Author's Notes**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

* * *

"So," Ruby started as she jogged up to us with her light brown backpack that was almost half her own height in tow. "What does Mistral look like? How big is it? How many people live there? Do they have sweet foods like ice cream? Please please please tell me they have cookies!"

"How about pancakes?! Please tell me they have pancakes!"

The dimly lit passageway smelled, hinting of light moss and some traces of sulfur with only flickering torches lighting our way. But even when the dull masonry was eroded by the constant downpour of leaking rainwater accumulated over the years, the structure remained sturdy and gave us the sense of safety knowing it won't come crumbling down on us anytime soon.

"It's uhh..." Pyrrha held her finger up while her eyes looked up into the back of her mind to try and conjure up some sort of explanation. "Nice..."

"Let me guess," I cut in as I walked up to them with a duffel bag slung across my shoulder as I started counting numbers with my fingers. "Your fridge is half full of packaging that doesn't suit its contents, your mom loses her mind when you lose your lunchbox of any shape and size, you're never old enough to learn about 'adult stuff'." I quoted the air while my eyes flicked to Ruby for a brief moment, who gave me a questioning look in return. "So you look it up yourselves out of pure curiosity and got more than what you bargained for," The champion's face flushed to match the color of her hair as she averted her gaze. "While scoring A's all across the board wasn't, and never will be, enough."

"Sounds just about right." Pyrrha nodded in my direction after coughing into her fist, mouth forming into a small smile for the fast save. "Was that perhaps shown in the series as well?" She asked curiously.

"Nope." I grinned, savoring the surprised looks everybody was giving me as I headed in front of the crew and started to pace backwards to face each of them, with Qrow and Raven all the way at the back, facing away from each other as they strolled side by side, and Vernal trailing close behind, barely out of eavesdropping range. "Every single one of the four continents in Remnant had got to be based on something from our side. Maybe a mix of two cultures or three in some cases. Luckily for you, based on how Anima's infrastructure was built by the villages that scatter around the outskirts, I assumed Mistral was based on our culture."

Both Jaune and Ruby's mouth gaped, all while Ren kept a close eye on Kevin, who was grumbling at his scroll.

_They're still not over that yet...?_

"And by how Pyrrha just pretty much confirmed it," I continued as I shook away those thoughts. "Looks like it really was made with Asia in mind."

"I wonder if they have hentai here."

_SMACK_

"Oww..." Dwiki rubbed the back of his head as he glared at Kevin. "Why me?"

"What's hen-"

"Don't finish that sentence, I don't care if it's a question that you demand to be answered. It's nothing, no I will not, and never will explain it, not another word out of you." I said in rapid succession every time Ruby tried to open her mouth. In the end, she settled on a defiant pout.

The other members of both teams just looked at each other, but in the end trusted that whatever Dwiki had spouted was nonsense and, to my thanks, settled on saying nothing, or putting off their curiosity for a later date.

"Welcome to Mistral boys," I announced as I nudged my rear behind me the moment I felt my back hit something hard with a loud thunk.

The large, wooden doors creaked open and blasted our faces with cold, fresh air that had a tangy smell of the sea.

Uniform buildings of many variations are seemingly built directly into the mountains and dispersed on many segmented plateaus, with white walls as their base paint and ornamental circular wooden windows decorating all four sides. Their roofs were built in a way that they angled down, making a sharp and steep line directly in the middle, varying in many different colors though one stood out in particular, with most of them being muddy red. Water seemed to trail both up, down, and throughout the place, seemingly breathing life into the large continent as it seemed to be the life essence that powered it, making the different layers of terrain that make up the base of Mistral much more segregated than at first glance. Haven Academy was looming above us, placed at a pedestal like position atop of two large and steep mountains that resembled twin fangs with spiraling passageways formed around them.

"Make yourselves at home." I grinned.

All their eyes sparkled in awe, with some even gasping, and almost immediately, both bubbly members immediately rushed past my side in a blur to finally welcome the sights of civilization and life.

They looked like they were about to climb over the wooden fence and enter freefall, hunching their backs so far forwards that they peered over the ledge at a near ninety-degree angle without much anxiety, with the rest of the crew strolling up to them in a much more normal pace and settling their heavy bags beside them with heavy sighs.

Raven took barely one glance, and shook her heads.

"Kids," She scoffed. "When we were barely fifteen we're taking down elite Huntsman twice our age. Where had evolution gone wrong?"

"Rae." Qrow warned as he stumbled forward with Amber still unconscious behind him, riding him piggyback style while the Huntsman tried to avoid touching places he should avoid. "Let them enjoy some peace and quiet will ya?"

"Peace and qui- Qrow, I don't know about you, but since when had _peace and quiet_," She said slowly, voice dripping heavily with sarcasm. "Worked?"

"When you actually decide to use that pea-sized brain of yours." Qrow pointed into his skull with one hand, somehow managing to keep his balance with his other on Amber's thigh. "Just because we could turn into birds doesn't mean we have to act and think like one."

"By all means brother, I think that only applies to yourself with that drinking habit of yours." The armored woman pointed towards the flask on his hip. "Still carrying that around?"

"It was a gift from _her_ Rae." Qrow snarled as he subconsciously went to conceal the canteen from his sister's view by spinning sideways. "And speaking of _her_, at least I didn't tarnish our legacy the moment she left."

"Tarnish?!" She placed her palm onto her breastplate. "I was the one who discovered Ozpin's lies! And what have you been doing?! Following him like that damn mutt Tai adopted!"

"Break it up." I pushed the two apart from each other, even as one of them remained unreadable with the white, porcelain mask she had donned on and for some reason, had yet to take off.

It might just be me, but she had been avoiding Yang's gaze for the entire trip to Mistral, while the blonde brawler seemingly found something they agreed in common for once.

"I'm not usually one to intrude in 'family business'," I quoted the air as I swapped glances between the two who were breathing down each other's throats. "And I honestly don't care. But if you don't want to endanger any of my friends, your camp, your daughter," I glared at Raven. "Your nieces," I turned to look at Qrow, who was gnashing his teeth. "Then we're gonna have to put your differences aside for now and make peace. Or so help me, I will beat the shit out of the two of you myself if I have to."

"Tch..." Raven scoffed as she crossed her arms. "As if you could. You couldn't even beat that half-assed sorry excuse of a Fall Maide-"

Her Aura flared black and flickered weakly as it slowly flashed back into crimson.

A moment later she fell to the ground gasping for air.

Vernal quickly found reason to push me aside as she rushed to the Bandit leader's aid, who was staring at her shoulder where my hand last held her before she collapsed.

"What did you just do?!"

"Nothing." I shrugged. "Nothing harmful anyway."

"Bullshit! Look at her!" Vernal pointed towards her leader with both arms, who had both arms on the ground, coughing and hacking like she was suffocating from the lack of air.

"I just took away the only thing shielding her away from any harm." I shrugged nonchalantly. "If you know, you know. If you don't well... " I looked to the side with a lopsided smile as I strode away. "I'd watch out the next time you decide to trip and fall."

_That should make her comply for the time being..._

"Fucker."

I heard her mutter strings of abusive curses behind me before helping her leader get up. After a moment where I felt two pairs of eyes linger on the back of my skull with murderous intent, they left the area as they strode down the staircase that was leading towards the section of wooden, pulley powered elevators that led to the upper, more medium classed accommodations.

I shook my head as I saw Qrow approaching the group of teens instead as his lips finally cracked into a smile with the absence of his sibling, wondering what could be made of him if he'd stayed within the Brawnwen camp, before looking at the last member of our group who was strangely still standing at the large doorway, and seemed like he would rather be anywhere else but here.

"Still ain't coming out, is he?" I asked as the small farmboy fiddled uncomfortably with the cuffs of his shirt and looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for kiddo." I replied as one shoulder rose and fell. "The old man must've felt really betrayed. It'll take some time for him to try and come back to his senses." After a moment of silence where he looked at the floor, I took that as a sign to continue. "To add on to that, he also led you to your near-death situation. Wouldn't blame the old geezer of feeling at least a tiny bit guilty in his situation."

"We- I... He thought that he..." Oscar faltered as he thought of the events that transpired before we found him. "That Leo..."

"Could be trusted, I know." I laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Wasn't your fault at all kiddo. If anything, it was mine for not arriving sooner."

"You didn't know." Oscar muttered tiredly as he glanced up in my direction. "You also managed to convince the scary lady to join us even though I was told she hated Ozpin. I should be thanking you instead," His shoulders were shaking, the gloves on his hands clenched into fists. "For saving my life. For... everything."

He was afraid, new to all this.

His expression said it all. Anxiety, uncertainty, uselessness.

He was also very, very confused, exploring the world of Remnant outside his aunt's house for the first time ever and being immediately ambushed the moment a voice within his head told him to head for the city to see an old acquaintance that presumably could still be trusted.

_Hell, I'd be traumatized._

_Why'd Ozpin even head to Haven in the first place...? Isn't he supposed to meet up with Qrow in a bar or something...?_

_Did our existence in this world somehow change that?_

_Would there be any more casualties because of it?_

"You did alright kiddo." I said instead after a moment of thought.

"Alright how?" He asked with a raised brow. "What part of getting pushed around with and tortured with is supposed to be _alright_?"

"You're still here. You lived." I argued, causing him to grit his teeth in frustration and clench his gloves tighter, causing its age and consistent usage to become more apparent as it creased in places where stretching occurs and tore easily in others, such as where the knuckles would be.

"Trust me," I chuckled lightheartedly. "This might be the first, but it won't be the last time you'll get beaten up to a pulp in the life of a Huntsman. You did choose to walk down this path. You don't know why but deep down you feel it's just... right."

The way to small boy scoffed told me that I did no reassurance of any kind.

"That's putting it lightly." He sighed. "If I told my aunt there was an immortal ex headmaster all the way from Vale resides in my head she would've sent me to an asylum." He slumped. "Nobody would've believed me."

"Hey, in a world full of monsters and super-powered teenagers with giant scythes that's also a gun, I'm pretty sure nothing's 'crazy' anymore." I snickered as I ruffled his hair, causing him to swat it away. "Also, despite the rough start, aren't you glad to have met us?"

He crossed his arms and looked away.

Defiance and denial, a natural reaction for someone who felt useless and watched others do the work for them.

For some reason, his cheeks flushed once his gaze settled on the back of a particular figure with a red hood, who was giving her sincerest smiles as she took in the view, pointing animatedly to show it off while Qrow ruffled her hair.

When he glanced up and saw my knowing smirk that he'd been ogling, lime green eyes quickly made to look elsewhere while his cheeks lit aflame.

_He's still adjusting to this. He's but a simple farm boy that doesn't know the world of Huntsman and Huntresses, let alone how to fight and immediately being thrown into it._

_Damnit Ozpin... you're not giving people much of a choice here..._

_Then again, was there ever one?_

"Nevertheless," I said as I tried to lift up his mood. "You did make a full recovery and you did hold out on your own till we found you, so you should be fine for the time being. Besides," I grinned and nudged my elbow to his side. "I kicked that lady's ass. You don't have to worry bout her hurting you for a long, long time."

"I saw," He smiled faintly as he seemed to be remembering something distant. "You sure showed that woman in a red who's boss."

"Yeah well," I started to trek down the stairs that led into the city portion of Mistral. "It's no surprise that everyone wants me dead by this point. Just gotta get used to how thing's run around here I suppose."

"So anyway," I let the small boy walk ahead as I linked my hands on the back of my neck. "What'd the old man say about us?"

"Uhm..." Oscar's orbs went to look at the skies. "About how you were his favorites, always breaking the rules and being the odd ones out."

"Sounds about right." I chuckled back in response.

[Mortal Kombat Reptile Theme Song]

"He also said about how you're supposed to be... dead?" The tanned boy paled and looked at me with petrified eyes as he did a double-take, as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"Yeah..." I scratched the back of my neck. "About that... I could explai-"

"Uh oh." Kevin said suddenly from directly behind us.

"Uh oh?" I spun around quickly as I looked for any signs of trouble.

There weren't any.

"Big 'Uh oh' or-"

"Reptile." He announced simply in a deep, reverberating voice, as if that one word explained everything.

"Reptile...?" Yang echoed as she raised a brow while one shoulder rose and fell.

Blake's cat ear twitched as her shoulders seem to stiffen, her amber eyes scanning the area to search for... something.

Then it clicked.

My eyes widened in realization as I spun around to look for any signs of trouble, but there were none. My gaze went back to Kevin, who remained unmoving as he seemed to be cloud gazing in the seemingly clear skies.

"Where is it from Ke-"

I got my reply as a battle cry resounded from above. The first thing I saw was a black boot slamming into the side of my face as its skin turned into a flash of angry red while my body tipped into freefall.

"Ilia?!" I heard Blake scream, but by when I made to reach out it was already too late.

The dropkick sent me spiraling towards the city, many many meters below.

_Yang's POV_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

One moment he was there in front of them, and the next, he was gone.

The poor farmboy's jaw was left hanging open while his eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets in fear as his bodyguard was sent off the edge of the cliff, breaking the wooden barrier that was supposed to keep them safe into mere splinters while a stranger rode his back like a hoverboard.

_And I thought bringing mom along with us would be as worst as it gets._

_Wrong again Xiao Long._

"You guys catch up." Yang yelled as she went over the ledge and deployed Ember Celica. "Take the elevator," With a loud bang, she rocketed towards the tallest building she could see. "And be quick! I'll help him out!"

_Louis's POV_

"Oh fuck me sideways." I crossed my arms in front of my face as I prepared to crash into one of the roofs that seemed to be rapidly closing in.

"Filthy HUMAN!" Ilia screeched as she unlatched her whip from the side. "Give Blake back to us!"

_The hell?!_

_Why was she here!?_

Apparently, to my advantage, I spoke my mind aloud.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Menagerie Ilia?!"

She froze mid-swing, giving me the time I need to latch onto her feet and threw her off my back.

I immediately regretted it the moment I started to spin uncontrollably in the air, and just readied myself for the worst.

_CRACK_

_SLAM_

_CRASH_

The shrill scream of a young woman was the only thing that caused me to crack my eyelids open as my head spun around in circles, vision blurry as silhouettes danced and ran in seemingly every direction at once.

"Fuck... me..." I whispered in a pained groan as searing pain erupted from my chest, and covered my entire body.

"Louis?"

I glanced sideways at the figure beside me.

"Well hello there Adrian." I groaned in pain for the second time, wincing with every inch I gained when I got up from the wooden table I just obliterated as I attempted not to get impaled by the small shards around me while roof tiles, sawdust, bits of debris and masonry rained down on my head with a cacophony of clattering with the addition of glass or porcelain shattering here and there. "How the fuck did you get here first?"

As expected, my Aura had shielded me from most of the brunt, but my back and spine felt like absolute arse from the sheer impact from falling off of a cliff.

My head felt like it was about to split in two when I cracked my neck, and I had to pinch myself to make sure the figure in front of me wasn't just an apparition or my head playing tricks on me.

"Instinct." The tall man replied as he sipped his bottle that he cradled in both hands like an infant, the only thing that survived my crash. "Bad guys?"

"You could say that." My face went towards the sliding doors when I heard a commotion outside. "Rejoin the others on the upper levels? I'll explain later."

"I could do that." He wiped his lips for any excess alcohol and gave his best grin, along with a thumbs-up as he stood by the doors, waiting for it to open. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I muttered when an invisible force seemingly blew the doors open and slammed all the way through, while he quietly slipped out. "I'll need it."

_"How did you know my name?!"_ A voice called out, seemingly out of nowhere, causing the remaining civilians, who had their backs up on the walls at that point, to panic and scream from the seemingly supernatural entity, who's voice was echoing around the bar.

"No comment," I replied as my eyes darted from side to side, trying to hone in on the voice which came out of nowhere mere seconds ago. "You came alone?"

_"No comment!"_

I barely managed to raise my hand to block the roundhouse kick that was aiming for my head, before something latched on to my feet to try and pull me off balance. I dragged my feet back in retaliation, anchoring her foot in place as I heard her audibly grunt.

"We could taaaAAAALK!" I shouted when I felt the pulsating shockwave enter my system, before I felt a fist burying itself deep in my stomach as it launched me through a wall, causing me to stagger backward as I skidded on both feet.

Up suddenly felt down, left felt right, my ears were ringing, and I had to held my breath when I nearly pissed myself.

It was as if my whole nervous system had been... rewired.

"That wasn't her foot..." I muttered under my breath.

It was her weapon.

"Shut up! Adam told us everything!" She shrieked as her camouflage wavered, distorting the air while her rage was getting the better of her and rendering her entire skin a deep shade of fiery red that could've been mistaken for a bad sunburn.

Her White Fang mask with short horns that covered her eyes was lightly worn and riddled with battle scratches, a clear testament to the White Fang assignments she'd been through, but it still concealed her identity well enough. Her freckles that looked like birthmarks polka-dotted her cheeks, shoulders, and thighs, further made visible by the sleeveless one-piece stealth suit she wore that was cut short around her legs, revealing a copious amount of skin that flared saturated red, intensifying and changing it's hue as if it was its own separate organ.

Her hair was tied back into a curled ponytail that resembled a chameleon's tail, while her teeth were gritted and her mouth was set in a furious snarl.

"You took Blake away from us when she didn't want to! You forced her to sleep with you as you held her parents hostage! You did all this! YOU!"

_That Taurus sure is one hell of a storyteller..._

"That isn't what happened!" I tried, but a fist impacted my face, causing me to latch onto my nose and stumble into what seemed to be, the restroom.

I just hoped it was unisex.

"Liar!" She accused with a pointed finger as I found Lightning Lash coiling around my ankle once more. "Degenerates! Killers! Rapists!"

_"Haha, look at him!" _A voice rang from within my head.

_"Nerd!"_

_"Idiot!"_

_"Lowlife!"_

_"Lowest in class!"_

_"Quick! Beat em up while he's down!"_

I grabbed the tip of her lash which was now clear to view as I shook off the thoughts.

"Why now?" I growled.

_I don't want to hurt her, but if I don't fight back she's gonna end up hurting the others!_

The segmented sections flickered to life as it delivered another painful sting, but I gritted it through. Her mouth only managed to gape in shock when I manage to steel myself and jerked my hands to pull her close, elbowing the back of her neck.

"Grk!" The chameleon faunus stumbled forward as she tried to find her balance, before landing atop the sink with her back hunched forward. "He did warn me you were cheap and dirty... Just how many nights have you spent laying your dirty human hands on Blake?!"

"I haven't even gone that far! Not even close!" I yelled back when she found her composure to stand upright without a weapon.

"But you were planning to?!" She shrieked as she tried to pounce on me to get her weapon back. "You liar! You must've molested her over and over again while she begged for you to stop you disgusting perverted fiend!"

_"Retard!"_

_"Loser!"_

_"Good for nothing!"_

_"Freak!"_

"No!" I sidestepped a jab, before jumping to avoid a sweep she did with her leg, landing atop a small ledge in the wall while waving my hands around to balance myself. "Whatever Adam told you it's a lie! Also, she's comfortable traveling with us!"

"Blake will never be so comfortable being around a human like you!" Ilia snapped back.

_"Friends, with you? Psh... in your dreams."_

"Give her back!"

_"Give it back!"_

_"What?" The blurry silhouette within my head shook the backpack as if to check the content within. "This?"_

_He flipped it upside down, causing every piece of stationery to flow out and break on the floor, before he crushed it with the sole of his shoe. "There." _

"She doesn't belong to you!"

_"You don't deserve this..." He said. "You stole all of this, didn't you?"_

_"I trusted you... I thought you were my friend!"_

"Die Human trash!" The chameleon faunus screamed as she charged forward.

_"Nobody wants to be friends with a worthless ugly freak like you!"_

Something inside me snapped.

My lips peeled back into a snarl as I bared my fangs with a vicious growl.

Blood boiled.

Rage built up, spreading throughout my body from within my chest, and I felt as if lava was flowing through my veins and fire ran under my skin.

I took in a deep breath as the light drained out of my eyes.

"Have it your way." I sighed as she ran to me as I sidestepped, causing her to run into a wall.

She staggered and winced in pain, before I grabbed the back of her neck, slamming it into the wall once more for good measure.

It caused a spider web crack in the tile that spread a meter wide.

"Now listen here you little shit." I grabbed both her arms and secured in behind her back as I pinned her to the wall. "I could play the bad cop if I want to." I smacked her hips a little too hard, causing her to yelp in pain as her Aura flickered black while I could feel her quickly grow limp.

Only from that alone, left a nasty red bruise on her skin the shape of my palm which was quickly turning blue.

For once, it wasn't her camouflaging Semblance.

She grit her teeth through the pain as she tried to retaliate, kicking my foot with her sole, but I slammed my palm into her back, causing all the air that was stored in her lungs to be expelled through her mouth in an instant.

"I could do the stereotypical thing you White Fang idiots think of us and bear my seed within you. Because that's what you think I did to Blake, right?!" I roared out.

Her legs looked like they were about to give away, but she held strong even as the freckles in her cheeks flared pink and her eyes turned red, giving me a death glare in return.

"You could run and squeal all you want, but nobody outside could hear you scream. I could do whatever. I. Want."

She flung her head back this time to try and impact my chin to drive me back, but I just sucked a breath through clench teeth when it did.

By the way her shoulders stiffened, she knew she'd hit but it had little to no effect.

"So close, yet so far." I shook my head. "Do you feel it? How useless you are as you just stood there," I laughed. "And watched as your friends and family get taken away from you." I made sure to dangle those words in front of her face so that she'd remember. "Again..."

Her eyes widened.

"The helplessness. Reminds you of a little... something, doesn't it?" I snickered as a smug smile crept onto my lips. "The mines... Does it ring a bell?"

"Shut UP!" She writhed around to try and shake me off, but was all for naught and caused her to hiss as her spine audibly cracked.

"Tsk tsk..." I taunted as tears flowed out of her eyes, while she screamed and shook at the memory. "I wonder if you were the last thing on their minds when it happened. Oh, what was it that they told you? Always to have a smile on your face, even through tough times? So why aren't you smiling now?"

"Shut up, Shut Up, Shut UP!" She writhed around so much that I'd thought she would knock herself unconscious at one of the walls, but I held my vice grip I had on her, not even putting much effort into pinning her in place.

"Oh poor Ilia," I shook my head in disappointment as my smile turned sadistic. "If only they could see you now..."

I further pressured my knees onto her interlocked hands, causing a wet crunch as she screamed in agony.

"Just kill me already..." She whimpered under her breath that came out in heavy pants. "Spare me the embarrassment of being defeated by a human like you and kill me..." She looked back with a pitiful look on her face. "Please..."

"I could." I made sure I sounded saccarhine in her ear, keeping a distance in case she tried to use the distance to break free. "I could do all that like what all you White Fang think of all us humans." I pondered as I considered the fact, making her mutter under her bated breath. "I could wrap Lightning Lash around you so you can't move, and use my sock as a gag so you can't scream."

"I could torture you to no end, maybe see if your skin could react the same way detached to your body," I emphasized my point as I traced Lightning Lash on the length of her arm. "Maybe even cause you to end up as a rug, or take your skull as my trophy."

She held in her breath, scrunching her eyes shut and prepared for the worst.

"But I won't."

Blue eyes snapped open.

As I suddenly felt dizzy and staggered lightly, but kept my hold on her firm even as a wave of fatigue washed over me.

As I stared at her face that was looking back, I savored the look she was giving me.

Indecision, anger held back, embarrassment, spite, hatred, but most of all...

Fear.

Slowly, I released the pressure on her back as she gagged from the purging of her Aura, before I slammed Lightning Lash at the sink beside her face with a loud clatter as the porcelain tiling cracked. It crackled as sparks flew, making it seem like it's out of power, while it's outer edges slowly dimmed of any light.

_The hell..._ I asked as my breathing started to return to normal._ Was that...?_

The chameleon faunus turned green, but not from any emotion of any kind. It looked as if she were about to throw up.

She quickly turned back to face me as her back hit the wall, then her back slowly slid down as low as she could, looking up to me timidly as her shoulders visibly shook.

Then she scampered further backwards, as if still not realizing that there was a wall seperating her escape.

I glared down at her before I spun around and jabbed my thumb to my left. "Take the backdoor. They'll be here soon."

Even when not looking, I could tell that she was blinking owlishly in confusion.

Eventually, after her lips were as close to a stop as they could from quivering, she finally asked.

"Why..." She took in a shaky breath as she sniffled to try and keep her tears in. "Why are you letting me go?"

"Because I believe you're not a total lost cause." I looked over my shoulders with a bone-chilling glare. "Not yet at least. Now go!" I barked, causing her to wince and put her hands atop of her head. "Tell Adam that if he wants to settle the matter, he can face me alone. He clearly knows where to find me."

It took her a while as she paused to look into my eyes, but eventually, she finally regained her composure even as tears rolled down the side of her cheek.

Her glare turned baleful once more.

The chameleon faunus shot up as she squared her legs, as if to test if this was some sort of test or trick, and slowly crab-walked her way to the sink. She jabbed at Lightning Lash even as she grabbed it, holding it away as if it was rigged to explode, and when it didn't, her eyes briefly flicked to it, before boring holes into the back of my neck.

Another moment of untrusting silence as her chest heaved up and down.

Then, she finally decided to make a break for it.

"D-don't think this makes me forgive you for what you've done!" She snarled as I heard her shuffle, before an invisible force brushed past my left as it forcefully shoved me aside. _"I'll get you for what you did today and to Blake one day... I swear!" _

_Figures. _I grumbled before massaging the bridge of my nose which was throbbing from the headache I knew for a fact was about to come on.

That sense of safety didn't last long.

I only managed to barely roll to the side as a hurricane shot past my shoulder, tearing a good chunk of my collar and demolishing the cubicle into nothing but a shattered mess while the ruptured pipes blasted high pressured water into the ceiling. The wall behind it... didn't survive the carnage, and those passers-by quickly found reason to be somewhere else.

_Yeap,_ I sighed internally when I faced back to see two muscular bodies that now blocked the doorway, donning blood red hoods that extended all the way to their shoulders, functioning as a semi cloak with cutout holes for their mammalian ears to pop out of, being held together by yellow buttons and a string.

A black tunic wrapped around their figures, with white linings around the edges, while two detached white sleeves extended from their elbows, all the way to their wrists, while their white pants were pleated and tucked into the knee-length sandals that wrapped around their feet.

_Should've known that she wouldn't come here without any backup..._

They could've passed for twins, except for the fact that one was noticeably taller than the other.

"Any last words before you die," The shorter one of the two asked with a sardonic snicker. "_Human?_"

"Uhh," I scratched the side of my cheek as I thought about it. "Swiper no swipey?"

A ball of fire shot out from a dagger-like wand, expanding immensely at it's tip before it was hurtled in my direction.

_Weiss's POV_

"... But of course, my daughter would be more than _humbled_ to have your presence in her recital. She may be small, but believe me, you'd hear it all the same no matter how far away you're seated."

"That sounds delightful!" The fat disgusting pig laughed hoarsely as he popped another piece of steak into his mouth, chewing loudly without any consent to how his business partner may think him revolting.

He was at least two meters tall, towering Weiss by nearly double her height, while he held a brown pipe of sorts, too long to be a flute, perhaps a clarinet of sorts, on his right hand which he refused to let go even when eating.

Weiss felt sorry to whoever had to tailor his multi-colored suit to his size, for even now the buttons seemed to be suffering to keep it all together, while his trousers seemed to be showing his curves, and not in a good way.

His double chin rose and fell everytime he breathed, while his lungs seemed to be crushed under the weight on his chest. His bulging stomach seemed to be a bottomless pit, and through the creases, Weiss could see the flabby thickness, layers upon layers of unfiltered fat full of untrimmed hair. His appetite seems to know no end, having double the seven-round course and still ordering for more.

By the way Jaques's face scrunched up a little he definitely noticed the odd behavior that was standing out in a five-star restaurant, but in order to maintain his connection, choose to turn a blind eye and ignored it completely.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you and make me your acquaintance. With the SDC supporting us in terms of our labor force,"

_You mean faunus slavery..._

"... And Dust, the Hamelin Metal Industry, largest supplier of metal for Huntsman weaponry, foundries of buildings, and vehicles chassis known to Remnant, we'll overtake the entire market- no, the world in the next month, maybe faster!" He took another bite of his drumstick. "Haha! The puny ones won't even stand a chance if the weapons we sold now came in a package with Schnee Dust, along with Dust powered infrastructures and vehicles! This could be good for the economy," He leaned to her father's side. "Our economy that is."

Both businessmen laughed loudly, though Jaques's was more contained.

"Only the finest Dust in Remnant." The mustached man agreed with a nod as he linked his hands together in front of his face. "With copious amounts of high-quality Dust, loyal high paying customers would keep coming back for more. No more diluted Dust that has a risk of jamming such weapons made for our finest protectors. And with that," He rolled the wine within his flute as he spun his wrist in place. "No more accidents."

_A saccharine talker, as usual. _Weiss rolled her eyes within closed lids as she tried hard to keep in a sigh.

And as usual, what he spouts were complete and utter lies.

He has no care in the world if Huntsman or Huntresses lives or dies, all he cares is the hefty amount of lien that comes flowing in his direction.

Truly, a shameless businessman as cold as ice.

It's no wonder she'd been ridiculed when she entered Beacon.

The large man drank, sipping loudly at his wine while Weiss could see no traces of swallowing through his layered neck that could pass for Grimm feces. "My my, you do offer an interesting proposition Jaques, why hadn't we done this sooner? Together, we'll make history! A new era dawns upon the people of Remnant!"

Weiss took the flute up to her lips, and sipped at its contents within to hide her disgust.

The finest wine from Atlas.

It tasted bitter, more than usual without her friend's company.

Despite that fact, she made a vow to herself to always stop the waiters from filling it too high.

She wasn't about to end up like her mother, who drank her sorrows away.

No matter how helpless she felt.

"Well I am a busy man." Her father chuckled as he straightened his tie. "Work and meetings were piling up before we could meet, and in doing so now, I see now it was a decision I would regret not doing so sooner. Especially of my daughter's return."

"Nonsense," He waved off as his eyes darted to Weiss.

She shuddered as pale blue eyes met his dark purple orbs.

She could feel it.

She could feel him mentally undressing her as he saw her as nothing more than an object.

A tool.

A doll to be used.

He nodded as he mistook her quivering for excitement. "I could not wait to hear the voice of an angel. Merely a week is all that remains but," He suddenly grabbed Weiss's left hand, bending down to kiss it.

The heiress had to gather all her strength not to flinch and stab him with Myrtenaster as he covered her with slobber.

"I could not wait." He echoed his earlier words.

"Me too Pedro Von Einzbern." Jaques nodded at him with misty eyes. "Me too."

* * *

**A/N**

**Tags: Ugly Bastard, Mind Break, NTR, Rap- **

**Oh. No? We're not doing that?**

**(Chatters)**

**Oh ok. **

**Thank heavens I managed to finally get one out early! Man it's been a while and it feels GOOD!**

**Anyways, since a ton of you have been asking for ship names (Because a ton of you means a ton of shipping) , well... here you go!**

**Ruby x Louis: Bloody Mary / Incandescent Duality / Garden of Shadows**

**Weiss x Louis: White Void**

**Blake x Louis: Darker Than Black **

**Yang x Louis: Solar Eclipse / Supernova**

**Jaune x Louis: Chaos Knight / Void Knight**

**Nora x Louis: Raging Storm / Fenrir's Ragnarok**

**Pyrrha x Louis: Gladiator **

**Ren x Louis: Dead Calm / Halcyon**

**Louis x Neo: Savage Silence**

**Louis x Penny: Balistic Battery**

**Louis x Emerald: Chaos Emerald**

**Louis x Evans: Crimson Cloud / Hellstorm / Shadowstorm **

**Louis x Raven: Cataclysmic Rift**

**Louis x Qrow: Fangs and Talons / Chaotic Testimony**

**(And thanks to this chapter) Louis x Ilia: Fatal Standbi**

**Evans x Emerald: Eye of the Storm / Mindfreak**

**Ruby x Evans: Petal Storm**

**Weiss X Evans: Hailstorm **

**Blake x Evans : Black and Blue**

**Yang X Evans: Fist bump / Dragonforce**

**Jaune x Evans : ****Heaven's Strike / Entangled Mess**

**Nora X Evans: ****Maelstrom / Gatorade**

**Pyrrha x Evans: Zeus**

**Ren x Evans : Hurricane / Tranquility**

**Adrian X Cinder: Lava Lamp**

**Adrian x Amber : Up in the clouds**

**Penny X Evans: Powerbank / Supercell**

**Dwiki X Yang: Beaten up**

**Evans X Salem: Devil may Care / Devil day Care**

**Derrick X Junior: ToyBoy / Billygoated**

**Derrick X Ruby: Jailbait**

**Kevin X Glynda: MentorShip**

**Evans X Winter: Unapproachable / Titanic**

**Evans X Amber: Your Name**

**Dwiki X Adrian: Eurobeat-up**

* * *

**There, I finally did it! Ya'll happy now?**

**This is NOT to say who will end up with who. This is so that you shippers can finally call us names, rather then 'Oh I think A and B would make a cute couple'**

**Better take that screenshot cuz I'm n****ot doing this again.**

**Big X is Evans pitching in. **

**You guys dragged poor Evans into this as well... how dare you!**

* * *

**Reviewer Sessions**

**Paradox0.5White: With all the smut she reads, do you expect any less? O wait, what does that mean for me? O shiet.**

**Sacke110: Certainly has been a while friend, good to see you're still alive an kicking. Saw a couple of additions to your favourite fics, looks like you're enjoying some time out of RWBY or RWBY crossovers so far, hope you're doing great, and can't wait till you comment on this one!**

**Glad you enjoyed Cinder's death, but was expecting ur reply to be longer on a 10k chapter xD, no pressure. I mean, no matter how evil is, pretty sure we're all gonna feel something if we kill someone, evil or not. Eh? Did I? Pretty sure I just said she had a Maiden, not she WAS the maiden. Gotta check that.**

**DankAnon: Well... Tbh I don't know what I did so great that you'd prefer my version of Arkos rather than others, but canon wise I think Pyrrha tried to deal with Cinder alone cuz she didn't want her to hurt Jaune. Well it backfired, but she tried. Leshrug. I know it's a bit common (BlackSun Earlier) And stuffz, but I guess I couldn't help but go with the story flow. I hope u stick through tho!**


	69. Chapter 69

Another fireball shot past my shoulder and absolutely obliterated the wooden stall behind me with a deafening blast that nearly blew my eardrums out.

"My cabbages!"

"Stay still and die!" The shorter one of the two snarled as he did a low sweep with his white-cladded legs that grazed my own, all while his brother jabbed the wand-like dagger that was aimed to puncture my sternum.

With my back against the wall, I launched myself towards them, twisting my body in the air, before barely managing to dodge the strike the cunning bastard below me had followed up with, causing the two identical blades to clash against each other with a ear piercing clang, producing bright sparks that tickled my nose before I slid out of the interlock, spreading out both hands to forcefully push them aside, and flipped backwards to land in a skidding crouch with one hand dragging soil, engraving a straight line into the ground.

Clouds of dust kicked up from below me and the soles of my boots felt warm, but it wasn't due to the friction produced by the harsh landing.

A bright orange glow flickered at the side of my face, causing sweat to trickle down the side of my cheek.

Flames and rubble surrounded me and my assailants as far as my eyes could see, billowing heavy smoke throughout the entire city block as the carnage continued.

Screams of innocents and a few crying infants were all that filled my ears as some people went out of their houses to see what's causing such commotion, before they quickly slammed their windows shut while finding somewhere else to be.

As expected, the Albain brothers had no concern for the faunus or the humans in the area, quickly slitting, puncturing, and injuring those who stood in our way.

I managed to push a staggering few out of harm's way.

Others... weren't so lucky.

"I thought you guys stood for faunus equality." I taunted as I unholstered Requiem from the top of my back, finally being able to use my weapon freely as the plaza eventually cleared of civilians. "What happened to that?"

"What would a mere _human_ like you know about our suffering?" The taller of two brothers, Corsac Albain, asked with a deep, accusing voice as he pointed the deadly weapon in my direction, it's tip flashing cherry red as it got ready to release another devastating attack.

_Inferno... _ I eyed at the spiraling pattern across the cone-like blade that seemed to be made of red tainted glass, before seeking its twin directly wielded beside it, with the only difference being having a silvery tip. _And Cyclone..._

Both weapons had metallic fox ears as hilts that were sharpened to a point, made to puncture thumb-sized wounds for very close range combat, while their cylindrical hilts were long enough to contain the collapsable blades themselves, making a concealable stealth weapon that could pass for a large ballpoint or cigarette, perfect for assassinations.

Obviously, being a Huntsman level weapon, it's bound to have destructive capabilities as well in case quiet and stealthy didn't work.

The wind Dust stored inside Cyclone kept brewing up a massive swirling vortex that expanded outwards like a crack in tempered glass, spreading the fires spewed from Inferno further than it's intended blast radius, causing more casualties amongst the civilians than I could ever hope to manage, with some flames already starting to climb the wooden doors of some buildings and causing the once white walls to turn charcoal black.

"A lot more than you think." I answered, keeping my own weapon at the ready as I made sure to keep both of them in my sights so that they'll focus on me. "Though I always make sure no innocents get in the way when I vent it all out."

"These lives you see today are sacrificed for the greater good." The one with ears sticking out of his scarlet hood, Fennec Albain, replied as his calm demeanor cracked a little, and replacing it, was a murderous smirk that slipped onto his face. "Without sacrifice, no cause can be achieved."

"Pretty sure your cause can be achieved without hurting the bystanders." I sighed. When my eyes opened, a steely glare slipped onto my features. "The defenseless. The weak. You could've chosen to keep destruction to a minimum yet... you've both done nothing but the opposite so far."

"A handful of lives is but a small price to pay. This," The larger faunus gestured around him with his free arm. "This is a symbol of our revolution. A dawn of a new era. An era, where faunus will reign supreme. No longer shall we be enslaved, chained to the desires of humans! No longer shall we be treated as lesser beings!"

"We shall start purging those who dare take and take from us, never learning to give back." His younger sibling continued his brother's bickering as the two started to circle me in opposite directions in hopes that I would prioritize one or the other. "And the first ripple in the water shall be produced by a death..." His eyes locked to mine. "Yours."

"Figures." I sighed. "And what have I ever done to deserve your ire? We never even met."

"The answer is obvious, is it not?" Corsac bent his knees to a crouch like a coil winding up. "Sister Ilia, brother Adam and so much more would like young Blake back. She is to return with us immediately."

_For fuck's sake..._

_If anything, these bastards are more stubborn than Ilia herself._

"And if Blake herself refuses?" I readied my own stance, knowing very well what's about to happen next.

"Then her human _friends_ she was tricked into admitting as her allies." He sneered. "Shall go as well."

My lips peeled back into a snarl as they charged into the fray, and squared my feet while putting my hand to the blunt side of my sword to prepare for a two-sided attack, but they never got a chance.

The ground in front of us blasted into a crater, spewing pebbles and small rocks to fly in every direction.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes, was firey hair that seemed to be glowing as the entire mass defied gravity, before a flapping leather jacket fluttered in the air, revealing the golden gauntlets she wore on her hands.

"Does everybody else except us hate you that much?"

It took me a while to register a pair of crimson eyes that seemed to peer into mine as my savior looked over her shoulder.

"Considering I foiled their plans and made them look bad..." I took her arm as she pulled me up and stood beside her. "Yes, Yang. Pretty sure almost everybody but you guys have a bone to pick with me at this point."

_Blake's POV_

Her past had finally come back to haunt her.

Despite their form of transportation crashing and burning on the way here and the unpredictable run-in with Cinder, in the end, it had eventually all turned out mostly okay.

Their journey on the way here was anything but smooth, but they finally made it to Mistral mostly in one piece, with their only hiccup being Amber losing most of her powers, but still alive and breathing, which was the best-case scenario considering the situation they were in.

Then, like a swooping Nevermore, it happened.

Just as they were about to travel up to find a place for the night and lay down their belongings, the next thing she knew...

Her male teammate was sent spiraling into the depths of the city by her long lost friend.

"Can't this thing go down any faster?"

"Relax catgirl, it's hard enough to manage the entire cavalry to fit in here as it is." Qrow struggled to place himself between the men of Earth and the females of Beacon as they squeezed to fit into one of the wooden pulley systemized elevator, causing it to jerk and creak under the sheer weight it was expected to carry as it tilted to one side, barely keeping itself from tipping off and spilling everybody within.

"Please hold." Derrick muttered under his breath.

"Uncle Qrow..."

"He'll be okay squirt." Her uncle reassured as Ruby looked up worriedly into his eyes. "He's a tough bastard, both you and I know for a fact that he'd survived that fall. The question is whether or not he could fight that invisible faunus."

"He fell off a ledge." Jaune pointed out. "Even if he had a landing strategy, that distance was too close to have pulled anything off."

"I've been through worse. Besides," Qrow glanced between the spaces of the wooden frame. "Look." He pointed to where smoke billowed up to the skies a good distance away. "Looks like firecracker already made contact. She wouldn't let anything happen to your little Louis."

"He's. Not. Mine!"

"Sure pipsqueak." Qrow grinned down teasingly at her as she harrumphed and crossed her arms cutely. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Wait, he's no-"

"Make any sudden movements, and I'll throw you out of this moving elevator myself." The orange shirted man warned. "Hands off."

"What'd I do?" Dwiki groaned as he stared into the ceiling, as if asking the gods. "Haaaarghh..."

"Is he always like this?" Nora deadpanned.

"More often than not." Both Kevin and Derrick deadpanned back.

"You know," The pudgy man added an offering as he swapped his glance up to Qrow. "If you want to go on ahead and help them out it's fine. I'll keep a tight leash on these two bigots."

"Not taking my chances fatso." The unkempt man stared back to the two beside him.

"Fair enough." He shrugged nonchalantly. "But remember, Arthur Watts, and god knows who is out there, and so is Yang."

His shoulders went stiff as he turned to regard the pudgy man.

"If you want all of Louis and Evans's hard work to fall flat on its face, by all means."

With his lips turning into a furious frown as he looked on outside, Blake had a feeling this was going to be one long elevator ride.

_Yang's POV_

[Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- OST HEAVY DAY]

With both arms pointed at the ground, a loud blast rang out as she rocketed herself at the one with ears poking out of his hood, causing him to raise his weapon in his defense.

For what little it did.

Another loud shot pierced through the air as it signaled the start of the clash, discharging the pellets in front of his face at point-blank range, sending him into a wall screaming.

"Fennec!" The latter yelled as his teeth gnashed against each other.

"Not so tough when you're on even ground now are you?" Yang scoffed as she whipped her hair back behind her shoulder, and placed an arm at her hip while she honed her eyes on the other White Fang member.

He managed a pinched expression, even as his blade locked with Louis's, told her all she needed to know.

As expected, the terrorists don't perform well in fair fights.

"And I thought this was going to be a challenge." The blonde brawler began to work some kinks out of her shoulder by placing a hand and circling it in place.

His frown quickly grew into a smirk as she heard something... odd, like a buzzing chainsaw that seemed to be emanating from... behind?

Her eyes widened as she turned around.

_Shit!_

"Can you hold off the taunting until Qrow arrives?." Louis deadpanned as a giant blade was driven downwards to swat a torrent of flesh-shredding gust away. "Please?"

"Yeah sure," Yang rolled her eyes, somehow managing to retain them to their crimson hue despite her anger being diminished by his arrogance. "Like you were doing a better job without me?"

"Do you see Kitty Kat's friend anywhere around here?" He gestured around her confidently.

"...No." She averted her gaze elsewhere as that bastard smirked.

That was her thing dammit!

"Precisely."

"Shut up and fight." Yang grumbled under her breath as she readied her arms, raising them up to chest level once more.

Somehow, the one called Fennec managed to work his way around them and rejoin his brother, though not without an unnoticeable amount of damage done to his now torn robe and his bruised waist, which he held onto with one hand.

They gazed at each other with desperate looks as a seemingly silent conversation took place, before both looked to agree on something with a determined nod.

Passing one weapon to the other's hands, the tailed one combined both weapon's hilts with a twist as they clicked to form a single, double-edged dagger, before the one with more obvious faunus features charged at them barehanded.

"Isn't that your-"

"Obsidian Nova's combining technique, I know." Louis cut off early as he eyed it warily. "You get Heads," He decided out of a whim. "I'll handle Tails."

Not giving her a chance to blurt out her opinion of the matter, her partner in combat engaged the mocha-skinned faunus with a heavy overhead slam that drove him back a few feet.

Just as she was about to come in and help, a flash of red filled her vision before fist met her own and the ground erupted around them.

Ember Celica then blocked a leg that was aiming at her side. Her arm rattled, but she held it in place.

"So," Yang tried not to show pain when she talked. "I'm guessing that Kitty Kat's ex sent you goons to do the dirty work for him huh?"

"I don't have to answer you _human_." He spat as they hopped a few paces away, staring her down with killing intent as they circled each other, neither daring to even blink in case they saw a window of opportunity to charge in. "Especially when you took away the chieftain's daughter!"

All thoughts of fighting fled her mind the moment those words left his mouth, and hovered above her head.

Yang blinked owlishly. "Blake's a chieftain's daughter?"

"Not any chieftain!" He yelled as he swiped a hand in the air. "The founder of the White Fang! The one and only, Ghira Belladonna!"

"Blake's dad is the founder of the White Fang?" The blond brawler blinked blankly again. "And I thought my family was complicated."

_Then again it is Blake we're talking about here..._

"Sooo... is she royalty or something?"

"She is to be by Adam's side, where two of the greatest faunus leaders shall rain down justice on those who wronged us!"

"Uh... huh." The buxom blonde nodded halfheartedly as the information she had just gathered started to turn stale.

"Enough talk human!" He snarled. "You shall return young Blake to us at once! Where she rightfully belongs, by us! Her true family! On Adam Taurus's command, I ask you to release your grasp on young Blake at once!"

_That creep is behind all this?_

"And if she doesn't want to?" Yang raised a brow and raised her fists to face level as she entered her brawler's stance.

"You humans all say the same thing!" He charged with a dropkick that was parried away by her extended gauntlets, though it did drive her back a good meter as she bled the momentum. "Making it look like your race is perfect and flawless, forcing your will upon us, even when we refuse!"

Another jab deflected by her gauntlets.

_Says the one who joined a cult, forcing others to join them at rallies and hurt innocents if they don't comply..._

"Your time has come human, pay for your misdeeds!" He did an unusual pose which Yang had only seen on Ren, with an arm outstretched forward, and the latter extended backward while his legs stooped down low.

"That's a shame." She shook her head, sighed and one shoulder rose and fell in a way that said 'She tried'. "And here I thought we could talk things out like civilized people. Buuuut, one can only hope."

Unfortunately, her shit-eating grin said the exact opposite.

She never had any intention of settling things peacefully in the first place.

The blonde brawler was actually itching for a fight ever since she had been helpless to stop Cinder.

"The only thing you'll be doing," He snarled primally as fangs seemingly grew out of nowhere from the top row of his teeth merely seconds ago. "Is bleeding on the ground as you scream in pain from a dagger to your gut, begging for mercy!" He planted his hands on the ground and did a sweep with his leg, kicking sand and dried mud against her clothing.

"Oh come on!" Yang hopped backward, before discharging a shot to the ground to drive him back. "I just got this cleaned!"

"Die!" He shot out from the clouds of dust.

_Louis's POV_

Another explosion rocked the ground as the two opponents behind me fist-bumped each other with a force to blow up a mountain, but a quick glance behind told me Yang was holding out just fine.

Not bad, her opponent could stand up to Ghira Belladonna, and with the way he still somehow stood after taking a blow to the gut, this was not going to be just a walk in the park for my teammate.

"Only paying half your attention on your opponent will cost you dearly." A resonating clang rang in my ears as the combined daggers met Requiem's jagged edge yet again, causing my boots to screech to a halt as it dragged itself across the ground.

"It's called giving a damn, or to put it in simpler terms, caring." I swatted him away, before closing the distance and starting to exchange blows with the armed White Fang member. "Something I doubt you would ever come to understand."

Multiple pings and clanging filled the air as we exchanged blow for blow, strike for parry, slash for jab, but neither of us gave in.

"As a matter of fact, we _do_ care for each other." He aimed for my head, but I ducked low and grabbed him by the torso by shouldering his abdomen and raising his body high, before flinging the fox faunus into the ground and delivering a winded kick to drive him to one of the building's walls.

He coughed and hacked through the newly formed crater, but I planted one foot forward with a roar of my own, before flinging Requiem's heavy mass sideways to wind up a powerful slash that diagonally pierced the air with a loud shriek, producing a crimson wave of condensed Dust.

His eyes widened, but he didn't move out of place as he prepared to block it with the Dust within his own weapon.

A hurricane brewed from the tip of one end, while fire Dust ignited it mid-air, producing a firey vortex that consumed my wave.

"Was that all you're capable o-"

Loud groaning, along with the screeching of metal cut him off, and I had to smirk at his demise as he realized that he might've mitigated my strike...

To a certain extent.

But the slash extended way beyond his vision, all the way up to the building beside it.

Something seemed to block the sun above him as the shadow seemed to extend beyond where I stood.

"At least now you know what it feels like to have a roof over your head." I smirked.

The red tilings of the neighboring property rained down and crashed into him with a plethora of shattering noises.

"Corsac!"

I turned back to see his brother's devastated face as his eyes widened in horror.

"Y-you killed him! You murderer!" He somehow accused, even as he was locked in combat with Yang.

"If I wanted him dead then he would've stopped moving before Yang arrived." I rolled my eyes as the pile of rubble started to move ever so slowly, with small rocks trickling down onto the floor with a few crackling pops. "Having such little faith in your brother must be a huge pain to deal with."

His face twisted in anger at the sight of me, but there was a small semblance of relief that was visible on his features if the way his eyes softened when they roved over to his brother was anything to go by.

"Now, I'm going to give you the same choice I gave Ilia." I warned cautiously with a hardened glare just as the fox faunus's back looked like it was close to breaking from the arc he pulled with the position he was stuck in due to Yang putting her entire weight atop him. "Leave. Take your incapacitated brother, and tell Adam that if he wants to settle the matter, he'd better come and face me himself."

"I will do no such thing!" He shouted in retaliation. "We shall not come back empty-handed in the throes of defeat to a despicable human like you!"

"Look around you!" I snapped. "You've done enough already! Are you blind?!"

He did, in fact, followed my words for once as he stared at the bystanders who were giving him angry glares.

"Ilia only came for me, and me alone, but you two?!" I jabbed an accusatory finger at him. "You held everybody else hostage and came close to killing them!"

"We freed them!"

"And I freed your brother." I gestured behind me, where the defeated faunus had his robe completely ripped off to reveal his mohawk like hairstyle groaned in sheer pain, all while half his body was the only thing visible with the rubble that surrounded him, and pointed the double-edged dagger in my direction.

"Don't try it." I warned as my eyes snapped to his pained face.

Gritting his teeth, he slowly lifted the weapon as it dimly glowed.

I copied him and lifted the greatsword up to my front, my knuckles turning white as I glared him down.

"Don't. Try. It." I repeated again, making sure to say it louder so that Corsac would have no misinterpretation as to what I said.

He cracked one eyelid open, and his still outstretched arm told me he was not backing down.

"Yang." I yelled.

"Got him locked in place chief." She answered. "Just don't take it too far."

"I'll try not to."

Hopefully.

"Corsac!"

The glow on his dagger intensified till it turned cherry red.

He suddenly stiffened as his tail seemed to have swished side to side, before his shoulders and arms slumped forwards in what seemed to be... relief.

For unknown reasons... he tried to hide his smirk as he grinned ear to ear.

Then I heard it.

Thunderous thudding filled my head as if some centipedal creature decided to travel in our direction.

My head spun around to seek it out, but was unable to hone in on the source as it seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

From alleyways, the main streets, and rooftops, black-hooded figures with grey masks poured in like a raging tidal wave as they aimed their weapons at me. Rifles filled my vision, along with crossbows, daggers, and short swords of many forms.

"White Fang grunts..."

_Where did they come from?_

This much existing in Mistral didn't make any sense, it was as if the entire organization decided to join the fray.

"Stand down human!" One of them called out. "Accept your fate and put your weapon on the ground! Now!"

Soon, I found my back to Yang's, having released her grip on Fennec the moment we had been surrounded, knowing very well that our backs are exposed to bullets and blades.

"Well, this is a completely new experience." Yang chuckled as she looked over the shoulder to meet my eyes. "It's not like we haven't done this before at the docks or the train or anything."

"There's a hell of a lot more grunts here though." I pointed out. "And only two of us."

"The others are on the way." She lowered her voice close to a whisper. "Think we can hold them off?"

I stared at the rooftops, where more seemed to join their kin, and soon, nothing of the mountains was left for us to see.

"Nope." I popped as the wall of faunus bodies started to draw closer, taking coordinated steps forwards to rid us of any space without any openings.

"Hmm, hit and run?" She offered helpfully.

"Pretty sure that layer of defense doesn't just consist of a single file." I straightened my back to look over their shoulders to find my theory correct. "If we can't find an opening, I suggest surrendering."

"You can't be serious." The brawler's jaw dropped. "You and Ruby nearly died the last time you two got captured in Mount Glenn, and now you want to just... turn ourselves in?!"

"Do you see any other option?" I gestured around us to the faunus that were now only three or so meters away to fire more than enough normal bullets to wear our Aura down.

And that was considering none of them had Dust tipped or Huntsman level weapons like we do.

"Damnit, I hate it when you're right." She muttered under a bated breath as her eyes finally turned back to lilac when they opened.

"Good." I concluded as I jabbed the end of my sword onto the ground.

They stopped not a meter away, the barrels and tips of their blades prodding us to either provoke us so that they had an excuse to open fire, or so that we would give back some form of reaction.

"I wish to speak with your leader!" I shouted aloud. "To High Leader Sienna Khan! We come in peace!"

They looked at each other, before returning their gaze to us.

"What business would a human like you have with the High Leader of the White Fang?" The one on my side asked.

"You have no authority to demand a meeting!" Someone behind me shouted.

"Peace my ass! You nearly killed our brothers!" Another yelled angrily.

"That's because they nearly killed everyo-!"

"Yang." I shook my head and held a hand out for her to stand down.

"What are you doing?" She screamed in her whisper, not that it did any good with the distance the terrorists put between us, which is to say, not much at all.

I ignored her and went on.

"We don't want any trouble, and this is a huge misunderstanding!" I yelled for those at the back. "Let us come to an agreement that will have no bloodshed and no unnecessary violence! Everybody can leave happy today, easy come, easy go."

They looked at each other once more, with some exchanging whispers said in such a low volume only the faunus's sensitive hearing can pick it up.

"Make way!" A sudden voice boomed through the crowd, silencing the hushed whispers which were on the verge of becoming an uproar.

After what felt like forever, the ones in front of us kept a keen eye, but eventually decided to part in two as a pair of feline ears came to view.

"And who might you be, a mere _human_, to demand an audience, requesting my presence by name?"

Orange, furred lobes rested on top of an asymmetrical bob styled haircut filled my vision next, along with her striped tattoos that coated the length of her arms, made further visible by the dark grey sleeveless top she wore that made her look like a tiger, but what caught my attention the most, was the red gem that resided on her forehead.

"Huh," I blinked owlishly at the sight of the high leader in front of us, amber eyes narrowing at the sight of two humans, while Yang gaped that my tactic somehow worked. "Would you look at that, same-day delivery." I finally felt at ease, enough to sheath Requiem onto my back. "And I didn't even order express."

_Pyrrha's POV_

Blake's barely concealed anger was evident when her hands balled up into fists and her entire frame shook uncontrollably, while Pyrrha herself tried to hide her gasp.

"Why..."

Mass destruction.

That's what they witnessed once they arrived at the plaza.

Wooden stalls that were usually placed side by side in a row were reduced into nothing but splinters. Once beautiful gardens that tesselated the walls of the buildings were set ablaze until nothing but charred twigs remained, while shredded petals and dried leaves littered the ground.

A certain figure caught the corner of their eyes as he staggered onto the streets, holding onto his injured shoulder while escorting his crying son and telling him that everything was going to be okay.

That didn't stop the group from confronting them though.

"Sir, are you okay?" Ruby asked as she was by his side in an instant. "Do you need help?"

"I'll live." He stated weakly as he hissed through the sharp pain.

"What... happened here?"

"White Fang." He shook his head in utter dismay as he slowly settled down on the floor. "Hundreds, maybe thousands. Passed by without saying a word and started thrashing the entire lower area."

"They're here?" The eastern gunman suddenly looked on edge as he spun around to try and seek out any.

"Thousands?!" Oscar paled, looking like he was on the verge of passing out.

"They've overrun the lower levels." He slowly shook his head begrudgingly. His gaze seemed distant as if he'd just lost his entire life's work. "It's a lost cause."

"But Papa, the wolf hair warrior and fighter lady."

That earned everybody's attention.

"They saved us... no?"

"Where?" The red hooded leader asked as she put her small arms on his smaller shoulders.

Just as he was about to point in said direction that would lead them towards the melee, his father sent him a stern glare that had him putting his fragile arms back to his sides and caused him to hang his head low.

"Don't even bother." The man waved off to everybody's confusion. "You all look like a bunch of nice folks. Take my word of advice and flee in the opposite direction." Everybody just raised their brows and exchanged confused glances. "This is one fight you'd want to avoid. Huntsman, Huntresses, both or neither."

"Why?" Qrow shot him a raised brow.

"I may not know the specifics, but that wasn't just a few misguided faunuses." He winced before he reapplied pressure to his injured shoulder. "It looked like the entire terrorist organization from all four corners of Remnant just decided to gather in one place. Here." He jabbed the ground with both fingers for further emphasis. "And they had no problem sweeping through here like a hurricane. Who knows what they're going to do next? I doubt they'll be so kind as to let you folks through, even if you say you're just travelers."

"But Papa..."

"It's too late for them." He snapped at his son, who winced. "Please, save yourselves." He got up and started to stagger with his son's aid towards... anywhere else but the direction they were heading in.

"The entire White Fang." Nora muttered under her breath, the normally bubbly girl seemingly saddened for once. "Here?" She muttered defeatedly. "How? Why...?"

"This wasn't what the White Fang is supposed to portray..."

"Blake," Pyrrha held her shoulder. "This wasn't your fault."

"We have to find them!" Ruby squawked. "What if they're outnumbered? What if they're surrounded? What if Adam is there?!"

"Agreed." Ren nodded. "If we go down this road, it should lead us towards where they are, and if we're lucky, we could catch them off guard."

"You're going to catch a thousand faunus with keen hearing and smelling off guard? Hmph, in your dreams pinky." Ruby's uncle scoffed. "We either go in guns blazing or not at all."

"This..." Kevin knelt down to the ground to examine the soot. "This wasn't done by the tramplings from thousands of White Fang."

"You can tell?" The blond knight raised a brow.

"Grunts don't have Dust based weapons now do they?" The pudgy man spun around and asked who they called a 'Lore Freak'.

"No." He replied. "With the arson done here, this was Fennec and Corsac's work."

"Aren't they supposed to be in Menagerie?" Dwiki chipped in.

"And so was Ilia. And yet, she's here too."

"There you have it." Kevin's shoulder rose and fell. "We have to assume everybody else that passed by may have wrecked the storefronts, but the majority of the damage were done by those guys."

"Wait, Menagerie?" Blake spun around so fast Pyrrha could've sworn she heard something snap. "What were they doing there?!"

Derrick and Dwiki looked at each other, before the latter motioned for him to go on.

"Their purpose was to manipulate Ilia, convincing her into making her think that the White Fang's corruption stems from both your father and mother, and must be rid off once and for all." The beanie-wearing man said as his eyes met hers. "Obviously it failed and Ilia ended up redeeming herself. One of the got crushed, the other got arrested, though not before setting your entire mansion on fire..."

"You have a mansion?" Jaune asked with a raised brow.

"Not the point!" Blake hissed. "Fennec and Corsec were names that hold some weight, being main representatives of the White Fang branch in Menagerie. Second to Adam and third to Sienna Khan. If they're here, then it must've been under either the command of Sienna-"

"There's no way Sienna is the one who issued the attack," Derrick cut off. "She's didn't issue the attack on Beacon, and as far as we're concerned never agreed to it. Both Beacon and this wasn't her doing."

"Perhaps not," Pyrrha put a hand to her chin as she appeared deep in thought. "But why did they go after Louis?"

"Adam." Blake finished.

Everybody stared at her.

"His body, he... vanished after Beacon." The raven-haired girl muttered. "So did his sword."

"As far as we know, he's still alive." Ruby's hand subconsciously went to her stomach.

"We're talking to a man that traversed the seven seas, got his hands on your used bow that you threw away into the middle of the ocean, and found you all the way in Argus, close to Atlas, took a motorbike to his face, and lived." Derrick pointed out. "Oh yeah, he's here alright."

"Talk about creepy." The orange-haired bombard rolled her eyes. "Still doesn't answer our question as to what we should do though."

"If they have their backs turned to us, Qrow could sneak in as an avian and back them up." The rotund man suggested. "If your sister was here she could provide them a means of escape."

"Unfortunately, she isn't." Qrow growled. "Didn't even bother to turn back and look."

"So we fight our way out." Her boyfriend said. "Done so before, shouldn't be too hard... " He chuckled nervously. "Right?"

"Did you not hear what that man said?" Blake hissed. "Almost every single White Fang member is here! This is going to be Beacon all over again!"

"What do you suggest then?" Jaune challenged back. "That we just sit here and do nothing?"

"No... " She balked as her teeth teased her bottom lip in order to think of a solution.

In the end, she couldn't come up with anything.

_Louis's POV_

"And that pretty much sums up who we are." I shrugged, and to my relief, even though Yang still looked somewhat on edge, didn't engage in any of the White Fang members behind us.

I just made sure to inform Sienna of vaguely who we are and how we were attacked by Dumb and Dumber.

Despite Fennec's sorry attempt to put the blame on us the moment he was pushed out of the crowd and brought forth, Sienna's men were quick to round up some faunus survivors and examined wounds that could not have been made by Requiem, which would split them clean in two without an Aura, or Ember Celica, which would blow them apart limb from limb and leave nearly nothing behind.

The deep punctures were then matched to the twin daggers, and the victims were swiftly aided by the grunts when possible, or escorted to a nearby clinic, but not before they thanked me for saving them, all while getting an elbow jab and a teasing wink from Yang.

"I see. So I take it you are the representative of Beacon," She eyed me judgementally as yellow orbs trailed up and down my figure. "Or what's left of it."

"I guess?" The statement came out more of a question than an answer.

Obviously, I didn't bring in the whole being in the black armor shenanigans, or that the last headmaster is a few centuries old wizard that's trapped into a body of a child.

_That still brought up the question as to why she was here though..._

"Then you can bridge peace between the White Fang and what happened at Beacon." She said suddenly.

_Hmm..._

"A possible outcome." I replied.

"Possible outcome?" She raised a brow. "If you want me to put my trust in humans, in you," She added with a judging eye. "Then I want certainty. _Results_." She emphasized with narrowed eyes. "Unlike those who gave us false promises but wield no desirable effect."

"That's why I said it's a possible outcome." A shoulder rose and fell again. "I'm being completely honest as to what we could do within our boundaries." I explained as I started to pace around the space given by the meaty bodies of White Fang members, nearly causing my blonde partner in combat to topple backward the moment she realized I wasn't there to support her weight anymore.

"We can't guarantee that we could spread the word about the White Fang's leader having nothing to do with the attack." I held out a finger. "And even if we did, we don't know how fast the word will spread before it gets shot down by other, more overwhelming rumors, or if it would be instilled in one's heart till the day they die. For all I know, the news could just be a passing breeze to most. Usually, it stays for about a week until it gets eclipsed by a single bad egg. All the good ones usually are."

Sienna regarded me with a slow, but understanding nod of her own as she sighed disappointedly, though her eyes retained an almost emotionless gaze at my level.

"However, I can say that a handful of survivors from the Fall of Beacon will come to learn that you aren't responsible for anything that occurred at Beacon is better than nothing, and that a public punishment for Fennec and Corsac's act of vandalism today would be more than enough. Actually," I added after a moment of thought. "What are you doing bringing the entire faction here in the first place? How did you actually think that would play out...?"

"I am not obliged to give you an insight about our operations." Sienna pointed out calmly, though the way she said it made it clear that it was a warning.

"Okay, my bad, my bad." I put both hands up in defeat. "I'm just saying, how do you think this will look like in the headlines tomorrow? Man wards off hundreds of White Fang single-handedly with her trusty blonde sidekick?"

"Sidekick? You litt-!"

"Lower grounds overrun with White Fang members, local Huntsman nowhere to be found?" I pondered and put a hand on my chin. "Haven Academy raises alerts to prior White Fang assault, hires mercenaries in the process?"

"Hmph," The tiger faunus finally cracked a small smile. "Big mouth. I can see why Taurus dislikes you."

"Tell him I said hi." I smiled back sweetly.

_And watch your back while at it..._ My eyes tried to deliver as it peered into amber ones.

"Well then, Louis and Yang Xiao Long of Beacon, this encounter had been... unexpectedly pleasant," The short-haired woman concluded with a nod. "I'm glad you tried to be... _nice_ to Fennec and Corsac, despite their acts against you. I will make sure to take into consideration your... suggestions of publicly punishing these misguided pair."

"And your's had been... much needed." I said in return. "We thank you for your assistance, even if it was unrequested and uncalled for."

"Likewise." Sienna said as the majority of White Fang already moved on up ahead, leaving a few burly bodyguards behind. "Should we cross paths again, I hope it would be under... better circumstances."

And with that, she started to stroll away, but not before calling over her shoulder. "Be careful about Adam Taurus, he didn't take the news of Blake's departure too kindly, so he'd been using every excuse he can get his hands on. In this case," She pointed towards me. "Saying that a human blackmailing her was the cause of her leaving."

_Wait..._

_A. Human...?_ I blinked owlishly.

Raising a bamboozled brow, I questioned.

"He... didn't specify which or what they look like?"

"As far as I could remember," Sienna pondered for a bit as she held onto her chin. "He didn't say. Just that she was traveling with a bunch of humans, and that the males and caped ones were the threats." She muttered under her breath about some 'Foolish obsessions' and shook her head. "Obviously, I and my men don't believe a single uttered word that he said. I've known Ghira since she was a mere teenager. As stubborn as she can be, Blake could fend off a couple of men on her own, Huntsman or not. After all, Adam trained her himself."

Sienna seemed amused at the past memory, like a parent remembering their kids before they grew up and leave the nest.

Then it died a horrible death as she frowned.

"Unfortunately, a small portion of the White Fang decided to follow his path of _reclaiming_ what's once his despite being warned not to, since the Fall of Beacon had its consequences by painting a target on our backs. Case in point of such faunus being." She pointed at the now cuffed fox faunuses that was walking in the back lines, earning a nod from me. "As to how many, I couldn't say, but I have my most trusted men keeping a close eye on him just in case he decides to act out of place. Not that he could do anything brash after losing his sword."

I blinked owlishly again. "He did?"

She paused for a moment, then turned to regard one of her personal guards.

"Am I allowed to say that?"

The guard beside her shook his head, causing the High Leader to pinch her nose and sigh.

"All the work might've gotten to me. You wouldn't believe the number of letters I had to sit through, read and reply to after that debacle. At any rate, I apologize on behalf of the White Fang on how some of them used you as a scratching post."

"Hold up." I put my hands out. "That means... that it could've been anybody else." I gestured around me. "Literally anybody else on that mountain traveling with Blake," I prodded the inner walls of my cheek with my tongue in deep thought. "Or even looked to be traveling with Blake, and still they still would've kicked him off."

"...Yes." Sienna nodded glumly. "Luckily, it seemed you know how not to only have a viable landing strategy, but have enough grit in you to fend them off, though it seemed it wasn't without the assistance of your girlfriend there."

I choked out some air, coughing wildly at her accusation. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Well..." Her expression remained unreadable, even as she swapped glances between me and Yang. Her bodyguards, however, seemed to embrace my flustered denial with an amused smirk. "No matter. Point is, good thing you both were aspiring Huntsman that were on par with them, otherwise..." She dwindled off.

Her grated teeth told me exactly what she was thinking. Unnecessary blood on the White Fang's hands, yet again, which means more burden on her shoulders, once more, thus automatically driving the White Fang into an even tighter spot than it already is.

I groaned as my head throbbed from overthinking about what she might've gone through, and realized what could have been.

_Great... so Ilia could've lashed out on either Kevin, Derrick or Dwiki, three Auraless idiots that would've been sent toppling to their deaths and will end up as just another pretty stain on the ground. I just happened to be in her game of Twister as she rolled right foot on my face and pretty much confirmed for her that I was the one she'd been looking for._

_Fantastic._

"Just my rotten luck..." I muttered under my breath.

"Nice going lady killer." I felt a hand clench around my shoulder as Yang tiptoed to level her gaze to my face while Sienna and her guardians faded from sight.

One eye cracked open as a deadly smirk crept up onto her face. "Now... what was that about being a sidekick?"

"Give it a rest sis, you know I was making things up along the way." I rolled my eyes, sidestepping so that she would lose balance. And lose balance she did as her arms flailed around to find purchase. "Now, we should really focus on stuff like-"

I didn't get a chance to finish before a small squeak rang out.

"Louis!"

A small, yet rapidly approaching blur of red burst forth and barreled into my side, causing me to grit my teeth as pain overloaded my senses when a vice grip nearly crushed me to death.

_Air..._

_Need... air..._

"Rubes... " Yang tried. "I think he barely has any Aura left after taking a fall like that..."

"I don't care!" Her strength multiplied tenfold. "You nearly died," Hundredfold. "Again!"

"You're... making it seem like... I'm doing this on... purpose!" I hissed out of the steel grip as I managed to get her to loosen enough to get a fresh breath of air in.

A look to where she came from showed the others quickly catching up, with a certain cat faunus dashing up with feline-like agility to our side. "Are you okay?" She asked quickly. The only reply I could give her was a small nod as she patted my sides to check for any broken bones.

Eyeing me warily, she patted my shoulders, sides, and legs to make sure. In the end, amber eyes met dark ones.

"I'm... fine Blake, just..." I pointed down with both hands.

She took one look at an unrelenting Ruby that looked to be stuck there like the surface of a tongue on a cold surface and having no intention of letting go anytime soon, before ignoring my request completely. "White Fang, where?" She asked as amber eyes darted left and right.

"Just missed them." Yang explained for me.

"Thousands?" The raven-haired faunus asked. "Gone? Just like that?"

"Well..." Her partner's eyes flicked to my direction and back to Blake twice, before jerking her head at me over and over again in case she didn't get the hint, causing her to tilt her head slowly in my direction.

"How?" Was all she could get out.

"Sienna was there..." I managed to explain when Ruby's grip finally loosened to comfortable proportions. "Most rational out of the whole bunch, managed to talk our way through. Barely though."

"Didn't they destroy the shops down the road?" Blake pointed back to where they came from. "What part of that is rational?"

"No, that was Corsac and Fennec." I raised my brow in confusion. "Where'd ya heard that from?"

"We met someone on the way here." The small leader looked up into my eyes. "An elderly man with his child, looked to be in a lot of pain after taking a hit from... something. He was bleeding badly, but denied our assistance. His son told us that you saved him though! That's nice of you!"

I tried to recall the people I've pushed out of the way, but none resembled what she'd just described.

"The entire rows of shops looked like they were on the brink of collapsing. Actually," She muttered before she gasped. "It looked just like that shop right there!"

My dark orbs trailed over to where her finger was pointing, towards a storefront that had its tilings sliced clean off.

...

The exact same one that I had destroyed in order to paralyze Corsac.

"Rubes..." Yang's eyes were wide. Panic-stricken, causing us to stare at her with concern. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you not hear what I said?" The small reaper turned to her sister. "Rows of shops. Hostage. White Fang. Pointed us to go here."

What the blonde brawler said next shot that small pint of concern sky high.

"There were no buildings where you came from," Yang said slowly. "Just well-maintained trees and the receiving end of some waterfalls."

"H...uh?" Ruby slowly shielded herself by hiding behind my back, hoping that my body could hide her from her thoughts. "Y-Yang! Don't scare me like that! B-Blake, you saw it too right? Tell her!"

The raven-haired faunus nodded slowly.

"Yang, you're sure?" I questioned as I turned to look in her direction.

"I came down the same way you did and leapt from roof to roof to find you, yes I'm sure!"

"Then who-" My breath got caught in my throat.

I paled visibly, and they did the same, probably because they realized who it was that just slipped past them.

* * *

**A/N**

**Welp, this one took 2 weeks flat, but I felt like the chapter wasn't ready for release since I was changing it quite a bit, and finally ended with this version instead.**

**It's not perfect, but definitely better than intended.**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

**Thanks to those that donated!**

* * *

_**Reviewer Sessions**_

**Soul109: Hmm, to be honest, Von something is just to make his name sound fancy and high class, and that last time (I'm glad you caught it) Was just a reference thing and won't be brought up all too much. Thanks for getting it though, but there isn't and crossovers happening here.**

**Gobert600: Was Evans's idea, so props to him for thinking that out!**

**Kage-kitsune9001: Welp, thanks for FFception 2.0, though I'm pretty sure Dwiki doesn't appreciate the head bashing all too much. I'm glad you agree he's a complete idiot tho.**

**Paradox0.5White: You could thank Evans for that. Probably not, I'm just writing down names for the people who likes to ship two unshippable characters. Like Zwei any... literally anybody.**

**Sacke110: Eeyup my friend, it's been a year since you found this fic at it's measely 5 chapter length, and made it all the way to now, chapter 69 (Heh) and has over 300 followers with 260 favs. It's come a long way, boomed bigger than expected, so I'm glad you stuck through! Yes, Ilia is a Chameleon faunus in canon from Volume 4. She wasn't dumb, but eh, well, she's dumb. Gravity Falls huh, haven't watched it yet but I know it's a good show. Great to see you're enjoying it!**

**Achilles: Hey, thanks man! If you want to keep up with future chapters do make an account and give this fic a fav and follow, that'll allow you to catch up and keep me supported! **

**DankAnon: Impressive, though it is sort of inappropriately indecisive to indicate that our Ilia is an indecent incarnate of inappropriate behavior, I interact with her for the sake of incarcerating her illness of idiocy as interesting as that sounds. Also I, an intellectual, believe that her intentions are solely to involve insight into information that she misunderstood. Therefore, there was nothing illicit about it.**

**You probably do.**

**That is something to look forward to.**


	70. Chapter 70

_Emerald's POV_

"Aaaarrrgh!" Emerald screamed out in agony as the pain caused her back to slam into the bricked walls with a mighty thud.

She clamped down onto both sides of her head from the throbbing pain that's endlessly flooding her nerves, overloading it to the point of no return.

Her senses tried their best to drown it out... but to no avail.

Her skull felt like it was constantly denting inwards, on the verge of imploding and collapsing in on itself from the overwhelming pressure that was pushing down on her scalp as if she was plunged several hundred feet below water headfirst.

Her limbs felt like fragile twigs that were hanging loosely on her sides, as if a gust of wind would cause it to pop out from their sockets, and every inch of her skin felt prickly and numb, it was as if she's stuck in between two spiked walls that were slowly but painfully closing in on her and piercing skin, muscle, tendons, all while threatening to drill her right to the bone.

Her eardrums were constantly ringing, and she could feel her body confusedly trying to regulate blood to reach both the upper and lower half of her muscles at the same time.

Her chest burned from the air that was robbed away from her, allocated by the sheer amount of concentration she'd put, and red eyes watered from sudden irritation.

She wanted nothing more than to curl up into a fetal position and close her eyes, hoping the slumber would help ease the pain, but the tormenting ache prevented that fantasy from ever happening.

_"Em..."_

"Grhh..."

_They're..._ The distant sound of herself hissing was the only audible thing within her head. _Alive..._

No, not they.

Both Arthur and Tyrian had said as much when they came back from the failed attempt of bringing Beacon down.

The latter, she could've excused as delusional, but the Atlesian scientist as good as confirmed it, and he was the sanest person around.

Second to Cinder, of course.

She knew very well that they were alive, but that wasn't the problem.

One stood out in particular.

One, they all presumed, died within the Amity Arena, and was no longer a threat.

...

Was.

_He's alive. _Emerald screamed within her head. _He really is alive!_

_... How... is that bastard... _

_... Alive?!_

_"Em."_

Evans killed him at Beacon.

But now with her own eyes, she saw it. She saw... HIM!

Not just alive, but walking, talking, and breathing just fine without a care in the world, like his death never even happened!

"Em."

"Impossible." The red-eyed girl muttered under uneven, ragged pants. "Cinder... " She tried to swallow in the lump that was forming rapidly in her throat, latching onto both sides of her head while red eyes darted frantically in place. "C-Cinder... He's... alive." She shrieked out to no one in particular. "He's ALIVE!"

"EM!"

She jerked and shot upwards, nearly knocking the silver-haired boy off his feet when she felt a cold hand grab her shoulder.

Her eyes trailed upwards to see the latest edition of their group looking worriedly into her eyes. "You okay?"

No, truth be told, she was not.

She was shaken, traumatized, and on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

Her mind was swirling, and she was drawing attention to herself, a complete opposite of what she was supposed to be.

Obviously, he doesn't have to know that.

"I'm fine!" She swatted his hand away as if it was a parasite. "And I thought I said not to call me that!"

"Just asking." Evans replied with a shrug as he rubbed the back of his gloved wrist. "You've never really done anything like that. To try and conjure that many massive scaled illusions and invade several minds," He added when she just shot him what she hoped was a confusedly irritated look. "At least not all at the same time." He raised a brow in her direction. "Have you?"

No, she hadn't.

But did they really have a choice back there?

The run-in with... _him_, was bad enough to leave her shock stiff and hyperventilating for air, and finding their way around the bout was harder when they didn't have a cloak or, anything at all for that matter, to hide their faces with.

Luckily for them, Mercury was quick to act as he latched onto her wrist and bolted between alleyways, dragging her limp body which followed as they weaved and blended seamlessly in the direction the civilians were traveling in and, with Salem's blessing, add on to that the fact that every person that passed by were panic-stricken with thoughts of not getting their behinds set ablaze from the fight going on in the streets adjacent to them.

So distracted they were, that they didn't recognize even a single one of their faces as wanted felons, even when they bumped into their chests facefirst.

Just as they were sure that they made it into an isolated part of the lower levels, with the sights of cities turning more rural and more greens filled their vision than greys, a small red-caped wearing girl they were all too familiar with popped into view from the corners of their eyes and, trailing behind her, was the entire cavalry of survivors that hated their guts with a vengeance.

They hadn't expected to run into any Beacon students on their way to Mistral in the process of retrieving the Relic of Knowledge, and with how abrupt it was, she stood there like a Beowolf caught in headlights.

Most worrying of all was the experienced Huntsman that sabotaged their assassination attempt prior to their infiltration of Beacon was present in the traveling party, and seemed to be on edge and alert for... something, perhaps already informed about their presence within Mistral in advance.

They barely had the time to react until Evans whispered something in her ear.

It was outright ridiculous, impossible, brash, and annoying even.

The list goes on to things she wanted to call him...

But he was annoyingly right.

Outrunning them wasn't an option, they'd just be cut off, swarmed and overwhelmed with both quality and quantity.

Quality, because she hadn't had the time to recover from the shock before they decided to head to town and get some supplies at the lower levels.

Even with their abilities in fighting being on par or greater than mere Beacon students as well trained assassins, they weren't sure they could handle an Elite Huntsman in the form of Qrow Branwen and there was no telling if he came alone.

Quantity, because well... they were clearly outnumbered.

There were just three of them, against what seemed to be a small army capable of exterminating large amounts of Grimm.

Students or not, they were still Huntsman and Huntresses in training. And even if they were sickeningly sweet most of the time, behind that visage, was vicious fighting power that could pack a punch.

And when it came to the blonde bimbo, she meant it quite literally.

Without having much time to think about it, she finally complied.

It was a huge gamble, a risky bet that she took to conjure up the exact same illusions for a handful of minds simultaneously without losing her own altogether.

_And if all else fails..._

She looked down on her left hand that produced a bright green flame.

It might've burned wildly like a raging campfire, but it didn't feel hot at all.

The ethereal fire licked the sides of her fingers without any visible drawbacks, slowly crawling up the tips of her fingernails before extinguishing altogether as she curled her fingers into a shaky fist.

Luckily it didn't resort to that, and Evans's suggestion had gone smoothly.

It looked like gaining the powers of the Maiden had somehow bolstered her Aura in some way, being able to do what was impossible before.

Thirteen.

There were thirteen in total.

Thirteen minds that she had to trick into seeing the same illusion without a detail out of place.

Never before had she been capable of pulling such a feat. Never did she thought she'd ever would have to pull off such a stunt in a million years.

With the way that Qrow strolled past by them at the illusion she'd cast, she'd even had the elite Huntsman fooled.

It didn't change the fact that the pain that flooded her senses not a minute afterward was unbearably painful, and that he...

Was right.

Annoyingly right.

"No." She replied coldly as she straightened her posture as confidently as she could which, at the moment, was near impossible to do. "I hadn't." Her gaze sharpened as she stared into brown orbs. "But you already knew that."

The shaggy man's left shoulder rose and fell nonchalantly in return.

It didn't seem to scare _him_ though.

"Can't a man try to start a conversation with a beautiful girl?"

"Go to hell." Snarling, Emerald looked down at her feet when she felt heat crept up her neck, trying to conceal her face from his view.

This was exactly what got them into this kind of situation in the first place!

Stupid emotions!

And ever since the successful camouflage, the lightly armored man couldn't help but rub it in her face with that shit-eating grin plastered onto his features.

_He always had that on his face..._ A part of her reminded. _It's a part of who he is. It's his charm-_

_His stupidity! Stupidity,_ She scolded herself. _Not charm! As if someone like him had charm!_

Well, even if it was always there, it seemed to have doubled or at least tripled in intensity every time she glanced at him!

She groaned into her palms as she tried to lock such stupid thoughts into the back of her mind, and snuffed it out of its misery.

A lone eye cracked open to peek at the space between her fingers.

However, such thoughts weren't what had caused her to freeze up and turn pale, wanting to do nothing more than to go back to the Land of Darkness and lock herself in one of the castle's rooms.

His hair was grown long and tied back into a wolf tailed hairstyle, but that didn't stop her from recognizing both his face, his voice, and his fighting style.

There was no doubt about it.

It was him.

Louis.

He was supposed to be dead.

She looked over to Evans with a cold glare, who raised a clueless brow in return.

"Why are they here?" She muttered. "Why is... _he_... here?"

"Who?"

Emerald gnashed her teeth together so hard it might've shattered right then and there.

As if she needed to point out _who_ of all people!

"Louis!" She ended up shouting anyways.

"Oh..." Evans's hand came up to rub his short stubble on his chin, looking up at the skies as he appeared deep in thought.

Both her and Mercury waited for a feasible explanation.

And when one came, it only managed to anger them further.

"I have absolutely no idea." Evans said with a pinnacle of calm in his voice when Emerald's glared daggers in his direction and glowered menacingly.

Even Mercury looked like he wanted nothing more than to strangle him from his nonchalant and idiotic reply, but managed to restrain himself and instead, snorted the air out of his nostrils, crossing his arms to prevent them from doing any harm and leaned his back against the walls.

_Finally!_

Something they'd both agree on for once!

Unlike Mercury however, she wouldn't have any of it.

"Well, there's got to be a logical explanation as to why he's alive!" Emerald shrieked and flung her hands in the air. When she'd got her response in the form of a finger on his lips and his eyes darting around in both directions, her eyes widened in the realization that they weren't as isolated as they'd thought.

The trio quickly shuffled to another alleyway to avoid being recognized before the passer by's could decide what to do, and ran as fast as they could without a second thought.

For Emerald though, it was more of a clumsy stumble than a full sprint.

Her legs were still feeling like jelly, even after a few hours rest, but the pain had eased if only a little.

When it became clear that they were truly alone, only then did her back slid down the dull, aged wall with most of its paint chipped off and replaced by a thick layer of moss...

Only to land her directly beside a dumpster.

It reeked of putrid, perhaps even moldy cheese that had been left in the open for days, but she ignored it with the current thoughts that swirled within her mind.

The follow-up reply did not help.

"Perhaps they'd found some kind of magical artifact, similar to a Relic."

Before she knew what was happening, her hand found itself on his neck and dragged his entire back up on the wall, raining some dust and chunks of rocks down to the floor.

Maybe even hit a patch of moss or two along the way, not that it was visible with his green gambison.

The idiot of a man didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

Her flaming fingers wrapped itself tightly on his throat, before giving it a not so gentle squeeze.

"What?" One shoulder rose and fell calmly as both eyes lit ablaze with a lime tinted flame. "If Relics exist, some other form of magic items could be hidden throughout parts of Remnant. The lore was never clear on what existed and what didn't, and even the creation of Relics, Maidens, and whatnot seemed to be put into the timeline as a last-minute decision." He admitted honestly. "So don't blame me if they'd found something we Seers not particularly well informed of."

"Just like that?" Mercury scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, word would've reached Cinder if such a powerful thing exists." Then, he added as an afterthought. "Or Queen Grimm-a-lot would've at least warned us about it."

"Could they have known about it? Maybe, maybe not." He countered in return, dusting his shoulders off when Emerald finally released her grip with an unamused snarl. She would've killed him right then and there if they don't need his knowledge of the so called 'Show'. "But remember, Ozpin still hopes to beat her even after countless lives, eons, generations wasted, just like that."

When their only response was raised brows, Evans took that as a sign to continue.

"They'd been stuck in this war for a millennia," He explained further. "Keeping their focus on stuff and things that they already knew so much about and pitting those against each other. A prime example being the Maidens, Relics, Grimm, and Dust, so focused are they, that they never explored the possibilities of what existed outside their domain to support their petty war."

"How did they manage to find it then?" Mercury asked. "Goody two shoes and her gang of ne'er do wells I mean. Ozpin was clearly dead and seeking a host far away from them and their resources clearly depleted, destroyed along with Beacon's downfall."

Emerald was actually surprised for once.

_Huh, Mercury actually has an analytical brain inside that tiny little skull of his. Who knew?_

"Remember," The man child chided. "We left them to roam free out there on their own for about three or so months now. They could've sought out external help of Ironwood or any of the other Headmasters excluding Lionheart. Anything can happen."

"So he's back from the dead." Emerald muttered after taking a deep breath.

"Maybe they'd made powerful connections along their travels and was given it as a small reward of sorts, a thing that you can't use is a thing without value, after all." The flirtatious bastard explained. "I can never be too sure since messing with the main timeline."

"So, let's say you're right." The silver-haired boy sighed with crossed arms, the excuse sounding weak even to him. "Let's say that they did find some Relic possible of reviving him."

Evans wore an amused smile and nodded.

"How do you reckon we finish him once and for all?"

Silence deigned upon them once more as Evans stopped in his tracks, though he had turned on them, facing the open streets.

Emerald looked to Mercury, who looked back at her with an equally confused expression.

"Easy," The green-clad man eventually shrugged as he looked over his shoulder. "We just need to kill him," His eyes gleamed at the dimly lit alleyways before facing straight ahead once more. "Again."

_Louis's POV_

"What do you mean I have two assassins in hot pursuit and are in dire need to see my head get detached from my neck?!" I flung my hands high in the air, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Well, what did you want me to say?!" Amber echoed me with her actions as she shot me an exasperated look of her own.

Raven tapped her fingers impatiently on the marble surface, all while Qrow stood next to her with crossed arms.

The receptionist's expression made it clear that she wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else but behind the desk at the very moment, her fingers nervously typing into the holographic keyboard with a chain of tapping noises.

As if to further accentuate her point, Raven caressed the rim of her hilt as her masked face tilted at just at the correct angle for the assistant to notice that her attention was completely honed in on her, without looking like the swordsman was about to get distracted by anything anytime soon.

Qrow sighed as he shot Raven a glare.

She barely noticed it with that Grimm themed mask covering her peripheral.

It didn't do the poor woman any good and instead, caused her to gulp nervously and wave the collar of her shirt to release some heat within, before squinting her eyes to refocus on the screen. Cold sweat seemingly trailed down the side of her forehead.

I swore I heard a high pitched whine emit from the side of her lips.

"Raven." I called out. "If you could stop doing that, maybe the registration process would actually go faster?" I pointed out.

Her head turned to me, and after a minute, she'd let go of her sword entirely, crossing her arms instead.

The receptionist shot me a grateful nod.

"That you didn't really die?" The copper-skinned woman continued. "That would've earned me a dagger to my back, and with how my Semblance works, do you really think that's wise?"

"No," I near shouted. "But a Reincarnation Relic, really?" I just stared blankly at her and eventually slammed my back against the guest couches when she didn't seem to be admitting that that was the worst way to wing a cover story of my wellbeing. "Oh forget it!"

_If that's the excuse he came up with, they wouldn't even hesitate to kill first and talk later._ I bit my finger as I looked up to the ceiling. _The next time we see them, we'll have to be combat efficient, whether we like it or not..._

"I-it's not too bad..."

The words were lightly whispered, and it took a second to sit upright and find whoever said it.

Ruby shrunk where she stood when she saw all eyes were on her at that point.

Her fingers played against each other as she tried to word it right.

"I mean..." She started. "They were already onto you the moment you got dropped into Remnant... right?" She rocked back and forth between the balls and heels of her foot waited for my nod. "The only thing that's changed is that they're back at it because now they know you're back on two feet, so they're basically back to where they started. It's not so bad if you think about it."

"Only that they're gonna be more cautious than ever now because they think we're in possession of some... 'Relic of 'Reincarnation'." I quoted the air.

Amber smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Which doesn't exist, might I add," I glared at her. "They're also going to try their hardest to make sure I'm _permanently_ put down, reduced to nothing but ashes so that our imaginary Relic doesn't have anything to work on, and to make matters worse," I added when the small girl went to open her mouth. "This situation has unwittingly added you, all of you," I gestured to everybody in the room. "In the line of fire, since they don't particularly know what it looks like or who is in possession of it."

The red hooded leader went quiet while the others just exchanged focused glances as they all appeared deep in thought, thinking their hardest for a way out.

After a while, the blonde brawler finally spoke up.

"We won't let them." Yang smashed both fists together with a loud thunk to exaggerate her point.

"Y-Yeah!" Ruby suddenly perked up and smiled at me as she copied her sister by unholstering her scythe. "We won't let them get anywhere near you!"

I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"What?" She asked, offended if her tiny fists were anything to go by.

I literally looked down unamusedly to meet small, silver eyes.

"I don't need to hear that from someone who's plan to get us out of a hostage situation was to buy faunus-themed accessories," Her cheeks lit up in embarrassment and let out a soft, yet cute growl. "Wear them as disguises, walk into the center of a raid in the middle of town like it's an average monday," She was on the verge of beating her tiny fists on my chest. "And offer them _cookies_ of all things,"

Ruby's pouting lips somehow intensified and quivered as she somewhat deflated a little.

"All while thinking they're distracted enough to turn a blind eye on us even though they got us pretty much surrounded," I continued relentlessly. "So that Blake could slip in, put some on us, and say that the other two 'humans' disappeared to god knows where."

It was only after a few hours of constant walking that I noticed Qrow was carrying two unusually large bags filled with fake ears, tails, and other appendages from various species of animals, along with outfits that had fit the size of the small leader.

Not so much for everyone else though.

"H-hey! It was a good plan!" She harrumphed and puffed out her chest proudly while jabbing a thumb at herself as she tried to regain some of her pride back. "Disguising all the girls in our teams as cookie-selling scout girls would've gone well if only you and Yang both remained captured!"

"Are you saying you want us to stay there and remain at gunpoint?" The blonde brawler said in my place with a raised brow as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well no..." The small leader huffed and crossed her arms. "But you don't appreciate my hard work." Then, after cracking an eye open and shooting me a dirty look at the corner of her eye, she huffed again. "Neither of you do!"

"I do!" Nora grabbed the black-haired girl by her shoulders and popped her head next to hers while standing on her toes. "I've always wanted to be a girl scout! We can serve pancakes!"

I heard a loud slap of flesh against flesh.

"Can't say I didn't try to warn them." That was more for me than anything if the way one amber eyelid cracked open and sought mine was anything to go by. Blake then sighed into her palms. "Faunus traits act differently when they're real and those.."

The raven-haired girl looked like she didn't know whether to be offended, mortified, or finally accepting the fact that everybody she knew in her new life was insane. Probably all three.

"And those," She pointed down on the floor where the large bags lay. "Are as fake as they could get."

"I'm more surprised you even agreed to it at all." I leveled my gaze to meet her amber eyes who immediately looked away with reddened ears. "Really, if you'd just say earlier, we probably could have saved some lien."

Blake was about to open her mouth and probably saying something about never agreeing to any of this, but someone beat her to it.

"Who said we bought it?"

Almost everyone's eyes snapped to Dwiki, who remained as oblivious as ever.

Ruby was unusually still and refused to meet my eyes, all while the Nora slid back out of her jolly demeanor to hide behind Ren as she suddenly found the large round table in front of her interesting. The boy beside her hid his emotion behind drinking his tea.

Jaune tried to whistle. He really did.

It ended up nearly covering Derrick in spit as it failed miserably in a wet, puckered mess.

The man with a black beanie just glared back as he edged to the corner of his seat to avoid any further body fluids from getting on his face.

My mind tried to process what Clumsy D just said.

My mouth opened, but the voice died in my throat.

"You... stole it?" I gaped.

"The shop was abandoned!" Ruby tried. "It had its windows smashed in and nobody was in it! Uncle Qrow even agreed to it!"

The Huntsman had his back turned to us, pretending not to have overheard his niece's accusation and chose to focus his attention on his sister.

_The old bastard just wants to see his adorable niece with fluffy ears..._

Wait a minute... My eyes slowly turned to meet lime green.

The Mistralanian girl looked away, displaying the dry, plastic smile she'd been accustomed to when facing fans to nobody in particular. It somehow managed to look more fragile that it wasn't fooling anybody.

_Even Pyrrha of all people didn't try to become a voice of reason?!_

"If only Weiss could see us now," I muttered under my breath as I looked towards the ceiling, then quickly shook my head. "Nevermind, just..." I pinched the space between my eyes. "Just don't do it again."

They all let out breaths of relief.

"We wouldn't have to if only you didn't get captured." The small leader grumbled cutely.

That was a complete one-eighty to what she said earlier.

"Does it look like I had much of a choice back there?" I asked with my arms spread out wide, before turning to Evans in the form of Amber. "At least that answers as to _who_ our mysterious illusionist was, though the fact that she was able to cast it on so many of you is... worrying." My gaze sharpened. "You're all lucky another fight didn't break out so close to town. That much negativity could draw out some dangerous Grimm."

"And who's fault was that exactly, to begin with?" The cat faunus smirked teasingly, causing me to roll my eyes again.

"I'm sorry I had to save your Bellabooty from a not-so-official ex who's acting under the orders of your official ex. Happy?"

"Hey!" She yelped from the sudden accusation. "Can't put the blame on me that she's-!"

"And these are supposedly Ozpin's chosen?"

The dark-haired woman scoffed as she waltzed over where we all stood.

Looked like the registration process was finally over.

"Disappointing," She shook her head. "Underwhelming, incompetent brats? Oz really has outdone himself this time. At least when we registered we knew what we were getting into."

"You don't have a say in this." Yang snapped as she shot up almost immediately. "We made it through Beacon's downfall while you just watched from afar."

Everybody scurried backward to give the blonde brawler some form of space, not that it does them any good to avoid feeling the rolling waves of heat radiating from her golden mane.

Wasting no time, she strode forward while jabbing an accusatory finger her mother's way. Her eyes flashed red.

"We handled everything," She near shouted from the top of her lungs. "We helped save lives, handling the White Fang, Cinder, Grimm, pretty much everything since the day you left us until now. The day you ran away from home like a coward!"

"We even handled the White Fang, thousands of them might I add, at the town's square." She added for the sake of it. "And where were you?"

"You," The tribe leader pointed at her own daughter. "Did nothing. He, on the other hand," Her head tilted to meet my eyes. "Had to save you on more than one occasion. Both of which," She had the feel to add fuel to the fire. "Where you were knocked out of the occasion, unable to defend yourself." Again, even with the mask on her face, her expression was very much predictable.

Flat, uncaring, and somehow, in its own right, vicious.

Regret was very much evident in her voice. "Weak and frail. I expect nothing more than someone Tai raised."

"Oh, you ready to eat your words you bit-?!"

"Ladies," To my thanks, Qrow cut in before the fight could turn physical, and it actually looked like it was with Yang's clenched fists, stiff shoulders, how she fell into a fighting stance, and the way she squared her feet, reading to lurch forwards like an uncoiled spring.

I saw the local security unholstering their stun guns or batons, for all the good it'll do them.

Luckily Ember Celica wasn't deployed yet.

"Like mother like daughter." I sighed.

Yang's foot crushed mine.

"Not the time," He stood between them as I let out a startled cry. "Nor the place. It's bad enough the common folk are shying away when they see Huntsman of our caliber up in these upper levels. Unless you want to sleep out on the streets, I recommend you keep your emotions under control."

"And when were you the one to decide what I do and don't, brother?" Raven asked with a raised brow under her mask. "I've slept out in the open for the majority of my life. A night or two in the cold isn't going to bother me in the slightest." I could feel her eyes turn to us in disgust. "Unlike some people."

"That's enough." The drunken Huntsman snapped, and the sibling seemed to actually listen for once and stayed quiet.

For now.

"Got the address of where we'll be staying," He continued once Yang decided to take a step or two back. Her expression didn't change however.

"It's just a short walk away." He then turned to me. "Kid, you and your boys good with just a room?"

That was as good as a statement for how much funds we're going to be expending we have if we're going to make it through the entire journey without needing more.

I nodded. "Someone will have to take the couch if there isn't enough space, probably me. One or two can sleep on the floor, it's not a big deal really."

"But... " Ruby tried. "Louis could sleep with us, as he always had."

His jaw hit the floor faster than anybody could say Grimm, and a quick look towards my two teammates had them with reddened cheeks, though I have a feeling that Yang's was more from rage than embarrassment.

Blake couldn't meet my eyes however, no doubt her words had unwittingly brought memories to another time it _actually_ happened.

Obviously, the small reaper seemed oblivious to the fact.

"What Ruby's trying to say is..." I cut in before I could have Harbinger reach my throat, though not without a bit of heat crawling up my neck as well. "They're used to me sharing a room with them in Beacon because we were a team. Separate beds, but the same room, with no accidents happening. Ever." I added for good measure when Qrow's gaze sharpened into daggers and his arm made to reach out for his weapon. "And would like to do so again for old time's sake."

"As much as I would like the... nostalgiac feeling too pipsqueak," Qrow stated slowly as he glared at me out of the corner of his eyes. "I don't think it's a good habit to have any guys in the room full of girls."

"Why not?" Ruby pouted.

"Yeah, why not?"

_SMACK_

"Owww..." The pudgy boy rubbed the back of his head as he mooed out in pain. "Why me?"

"I completely agree with you." I nodded at Qrow's direction and tried to ignore my idiot of a friend. Seriously, this wasn't even what some would call dense anymore. "Which is why I think it's for the best that it remains that way." The small leader deflated for the second time and whimpered, and I shot her a meaningful glance. It wasn't like this was going to be the last she saw me.

I turned to meet Qrow's crimson eyes. "I'm taking it you're bunking in with your sister, Vergin, and the kid?"

"Who are you calling a virgin fuckfa-!"

"As if you could expect ol' Rae here not to start a fight with anyone in the room who isn't from the tribe." He pointed off to the side, earning a really hard elbow jab from his sibling that could've sent him flying. He winced and rubbed his side with a pained expression instead.

It would've been the hilt of her sword had we not been in such a public place.

"She'll be resting with Vernal in one of the smaller rooms. Little Oz here," He ruffled Oscar's hair. "Could take the single bedroom, since we have a spare. I'll be taking the other couch, if you'll have me."

"Pleasure is all mine." I smirked back at him. "Just be sure to stuff your Harbinger somewhere else though. Don't need your nieces to see that first thing in the morning."

Blake rolled her eyes and snorted.

Jaune tried to smother his laughter.

Yang looked to have cheered up a little, if the amused tug of her lips that formed a lopsided smile were any indication.

Amber gave me a thumbs up, while Ruby just got confused as to why Qrow was giving me the stink eye.

"And be sure to do the same with your Requiem." The Huntsman shot back. "The last thing I need is you trying to challenge me to a swordfight."

"Ooh, another duel? I wanna watch!" Ruby and Nora piped up and said together, somehow both missing the point. "It'll be awesome!"

"Pffft... yeah... awesome alright." Kevin hid his smirk well behind his hands, no doubt imagining a different kind of swordfight in his head altogether. "Ah, men."

"You're one yourself." Derrick deadpanned.

"Yeah, one yourself." Dwiki echoed.

Everybody got up with their respective belongings, and headed to the doors without a second thought, leaving me and... the boys behind.

I still don't admit Team IKEA as a legitimate team...

Probably never will.

"Coming Kid?"

"Just message me the address on my scroll Qrow I..." I ground the top row of my teeth to meet the bottom half. "I think I'll uh... " My tongue prodded the inner walls of my cheeks. "I'll catch up later."

"Anything important we should know?" He asked as Ruby poked her head back through the doorway. After one look towards his niece, he thought the better of it and offered. "Or could help with?"

"Nah," I waved off. "Just feel like a little analyzing is necesarry on what to do next," I arced backward to view his upside-down face from the edge of the couch. "That's all."

"If you say so," One shoulder rose and fell as he dragged Ruby by her hood. "Let's go pipsqueak."

"But... what if he gets captured again?"

"Then you'll have a chance to save his ass this time instead of Yang," Qrow ignored the look of a kicked puppy the small leader was giving him, refusing to meet her eyes and continuing to drag her out, even when her tiny hands refused to let go of the door frame. "Isn't that great?"

"But... But-!"

"I'll be right behind you." I promised over my shoulder. "Don't wait up."

"But-!"

And with that, the doors clicked shut with Ruby's muffled cries growing more and more distant with each passing second.

The woman at the reception seemed at ease now, letting out a relieved sigh once the scary-looking Huntress went out the doorway, and fixed her blouse neatly as if nothing had ever happened.

The atmosphere in the room became way more relaxed with silence washing over the near-empty space once more, with the only other sounds being hushed whispers from a few neighboring groups of people eclipsed by the constantly flowing water fountain placed directly behind the desk.

I closed my eyes to relax my thoughts.

"Well..."

"Well?" I slumped at the guest's couch to slouch as I turned to what used to be, the Fall Maiden.

"That pretty much confirms as to where the powers of the Maiden went to." Amber said in a near whisper while leaning forwards in case anybody overhears. "Think you could handle her while I'm gone?"

"You're leaving?" Kevin raised a brow. "Where to?"

"No, not that." She linked her hands behind her auburn locks. "But I need to make sure Emerald and Mercury don't get too suspicious about my prolonged absence since I've not really 'joined' them at all on this crusade, which means having and maintaining a normal sleeping habit as well."

"Ah, right." The rotund man shook his head. "Can't split the control between two bodies can you?"

"Never tried, and not going to risk it now." The copper-skinned woman nodded in agreement before she slumped over to bask in soft pillows.

Dwiki took that opportunity to peek, not that Evans seemed to mind.

"How long are you planning to stay under the radar?" I asked as I slowly looked her way.

"I'll still keep in touch and update every now and then." She admitted quickly, before looking around and whispering "It's just that I don't have the powers of a Maiden anymore and thus, can't help you if you're in a pinch." Her sigh seemed nothing short of exasperated and helpless as she sank into the comfort of the soft pillows once more, nearly engulfing her upper half. "Promise me you won't get in trouble till then."

"Knowing my luck, that's all but impossible to promise." I snickered before gazing up towards the wooden interior with an amused smile dawning on my features.

It's just been a few months, but the days of Beacon felt so fresh, like it'd just happened yesterday.

Either way, we finally made it to the heart of Mistral, not without a few hiccups obviously, but we managed to take down one of the bad guys.

That had to count for something... right?

"Never managed to thank you... for Cinder," I said suddenly as I opened my eyelids. "So uh... thanks."

"Meh, don't sweat it." My eye caught what seemed like shadows of her hands waving about dismissively. "You would've done the same if you were in my situation."

"Maybe." I chuckled.

"Maybe?"

After a few moments of calming silence, I decided to break it once more.

"Can't believe you lost though?" The edge of my lips turned into a cruel smirk. "I thought that was a pretty even fight without me in the mix. She had half the juice, and you had the other."

"Hey!" Amber shot back upright as she frowned in my direction. "You were the one who got her pissed. Everybody knows any characters always get stronger when they're pissed."

"Maybe we would've had a better chance if you had a golf club and tried to bite her fingers off." I snarked back. "At any rate," I sat up and stretched both my arms, popping some joints a few times and making the receptionist flinch. "I think I deserve a break after all that fighting, who's ready for a trip downtown?"

"I thought you told Qrow you wanted to analyze some stuff and plan ahead?" Kevin pointed out.

"I am." I admitted with a shrug. "But you don't. None of you do, so I think this is the perfect opportunity to hang out and explore Mistral together. Besides, I need to see what Mistral has to offer."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes Dwiki." I said with an annoyed sigh. "You're free to check if they have Hentai," I heard him squeal as he seemed to breathe faster. "Just promise me that if you do... don't leave it out in the open for the others to see. I swear I'll kill you if Ruby gets her hands on it."

"Weapons, Dust, we really need to reload on those as well." Kevin added, ignoring how Dwiki basically shook with excitement. "It won't do for us to-"

Snoring cut through our thoughts, and before we knew it, a tall shadow extended from one of the balconies overlooking the lobby positioned above us and fell directly above the Fall Maiden.

Her eyes widened.

"OOF!" All the air was blasted out of her lungs before she knew it and a navy blue jacket was the first thing we noticed.

"A-Adrian?!" Derrick yelped, being sat right beside her. "Damnit... fell asleep while roaming around why don't you?"

"Huh...?" His eyelids fluttered before he lazily waved an arm. "This isn't the... restroom."

A hissing sound was audible not a second later.

Amber's eyes widened in horror.

"Nope!" Edgy D ripped his dark purple hood from underneath the tall man's jeans, before throwing the remaining joints in Amber's direction.

"Derrick you piece of shit!" She yelped from the wild entanglement of limbs, the lack of Maiden powers caused her to be nothing more than an average girl being pinned underneath the large man.

...

Okay, that could've been worded better.

"Get me out of this!" She pleaded as she tried to push him off her, but to no avail.

Both Kevin and I really tried to help, we really did.

But with Adrian laying flat on his face and the dark splotch in his pants growing ever so closer to the edge of the couch and soaking it, trying to position him to sit upright was out of the question.

Our only angle was to either roll him flat on his ass and risk hotel management to charge us for making a huge mess, or drag him vertically to the seat beside her but contain the disaster atop the couch.

We settled for the second option.

"Ready?" I asked, grabbing his left leg while Kevin settled for right. He nodded. "Pull!"

Adrian's unconscious body slowly slid down, literally breathing down her neck as his lips latched onto her throat and causing her to gasp.

Both her hands flung to her mouth.

Dwiki grinned.

Derrick took out his scroll.

"Don't you fucking dare!" She turned to me. "You're doing this on purpose aren't you?!" She looked in my direction.

"I swear I'm not." I replied, though I tried to contain the smirk from slipping onto my face.

With the way her face twisted into a snarl, she didn't believe it.

"Just make it quick!"

"Me or him?"

"LOUIS!"

"O-okay," Kevin tried to contain his laughter. "Just hold on for a sec-"

A loud growl made it's way to my ears, before something visible lump rose up his throat.

Our eyes widened in a mix of horror, realization, and... well... disgust.

Adrian just went drinking a couple of hours ago.

And if he'd just knock himself unconscious throughout the whole fight and had basically slept walked his way here, only to be awoken to answer nature's call...

Then his food wouldn't stay still in his stomach much longer.

"GET HIM OFF!" Amber demanded. "NOW!"

"Okay, okay." Kevin's expression was nothing short of panicky as we dragged both his legs once more, only for Adrian to plant his face on her breast, hook his nose under the collar of her shirt, revealing some skin for all to see.

Her face flushed, and her first instinct was to cover her breasts, making it look like she enjoyed the cap-wearing man's company.

"Sir, madam," I heard a voice call out from behind. When I turned, it was to see a suited man with a stern expression on his face, perhaps the manager of the place. "If you would like to do such activities, we... insist that you limit it to the confines of our rooms, and not out in the open."

"You misunderstood sir, my friend got drunk and-" My voice died in my throat when I realized how many people were watching us. "We'll uhh... we'll-"

"Hrk..."

"Oh no no no no..." Amber begged to no one in particular while her eyes widened. Her heaving chest just seemed to further invigorate the teen and his arms flew up to seemingly attempt and cover his mouth...

Only to land directly below her shoulders.

"I beg your pardon?" The man crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. "Please continue to explain what else this could mean."

He looked on the verge of kicking us out, and would've already if his temper got the better of his professionalism. Luckily it didn't come to that, yet.

I had to diffuse it however.

"Well, you see... that guy there is..." There was no lying at this point. "Drunk. And if you would have a bucket ready, I assure you, it would do your cleaning service a great favor."

"Drunk?" He observed with a watchful eye. "So he stepped into this lobby drunk, molested your _female_ friend, and you, or any of the _fine gentleme_n here," His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Did nothing to stop him?"

I shrugged.

"He fell from the roof."

"A likely story." He scoffed.

"I-it's true sir." The receptionist from before appeared beside him, a nervous look slipping onto her face. "He appears to have tripped on one of our wooden railings, and fell down to this floor to coincidentally land on... top of her."

Even she couldn't help herself from flushing as she said those words.

He stared at her, and back to the pile of limbs, before looking at me straight in the eye. "It appears you speak the truth. Very well then, I shall have-"

The manager didn't get any further as the floor flooded with chunks of green.

_Qrow's POV_

The door slammed open.

Qrow flinched awake at the loud noise and reached out for Harbinger as his reflexes kicked in before he drowsily rubbed his eyes to see a familiar blurry silhouette of a figure.

"Amber...?" Qrow yawned. "Was it something I did?"

Said person was pissed.

Like... very pissed.

It then took another minute to remember that Amber wasn't herself. It didn't make her any less intimidating or stomach-churning though.

...

Stomach churning?

Since when did he find women disgusting?

It took a moment, but when his vision refocused and all five senses worked, Qrow seemed to regret having them.

She was soaked with some sludgy mixture of various digested foods he would rather not find out, and reeked of stench he'd remembered only when he first offered Yang his drink.

She seemed to dig her boots into the ground while a mix of green, brown and white dripped down to the wooden floors.

"Uh..." The older man winced when she flipped him the bird and approached him. "Bad day?"

She snatched his hip flask and took a swig of it without her permission, before basically throwing it down the table.

The Maiden nearly wiped her mouth with the back of her forearm, and thought the better of it.

Good thing it was a wooden table, which only dented. He wasn't sure if they'd be able to afford one of the ornate vases here.

Without saying a word, she stormed towards the bathroom and slammed the doors shut.

"I'll take that's a yes." He lifted the canteen to his lips, only to stretch out his arm not a second later and covered his nose.

A look towards it has it covered in chunks of onion and minced meat.

"Just my luck." He cursed and dumped the rest of the alcohol into a bin, before resting his head on the armrests.

_Louis's POV_

"Well, I did try to warn him to get a bucket ready." I sighed as I linked my hands on the back of my neck. "He didn't listen. It's not our fault."

"Well, it's his problem now." Kevin agreed to my left, before glancing to his right. "Though you know you're in for one hell of a payback for that."

The purple hooded man just grunted.

We strolled down the sidewalks of the lower of the middle levels, not quite physically prepared to go down for the black-market sections of Mistral where criminal activity might lurk.

It was good enough for now, nothing too fancy looking and just right within our price range.

"Well, I'm going to go and search for stuff." Dwiki announced as he split from the group.

"Dwiki wait-!" Kevin cursed under his breath.

"Too late, he's gone." I pointed out as the rotund man shook. "Ten lien says he won't make it back up top without causing trouble."

"I'm not taking that bet." He balked, before turning to the hooded man beside him. "Go with him."

"Me?" Edgy D asked.

"Yes you." I rolled my eyes. "The last thing we need is for him to invite even more trouble. Me and Kevin will handle supplies so you don't need to worry."

Derrick stood deep in thought for a moment, before nodding and throwing his cape behind him. "Leave it to me."

"Leave it to him to make things awkward." Kevin whispered once he was out from sights.

"You sure it's a good idea to get one D to look after another?" I raised my brow. "Sounds like inviting a recipe for disaster."

"Oh come on, have a little faith." The orange shirted man chuckled. "What's the worst that can happen?"

...

He shuddered not a moment later

"Way to convince me Kev." I snickered.

"Maybe I didn't think that one through." He tried to shake those thoughts away. "Anyways, what are we... oh right, supplies."

Storefront to storefront, stall to stall, we grabbed as many supplies as our hands could carry, that ranging from fresh ingredients, normal Dust to convert to StarDust later, clothing for Amber and a few simple T-shirts for myself to change out of, and some sweetened drinks.

"Alright, that should be all on the list." He gave me a satisfied nod.

"There's more food here than anything..." I grumbled.

"Could you blame me?" Kevin shrugged. "We're cooking for a large family at least. Proportions are going to be reevaluated and dishes have to be well rationed."

"Just make sure you finish all these before we go." I pointed out. "We won't be staying here too long."

"Dude," He gestured down to his stomach.

...

"Good point."

"Well, you could take a break and wait for the others to return," I said as I patted my hands from the aching palms of carrying groceries for what felt like hours.

"Where are you going?"

"When I told Qrow I was planning ahead," I said. "I wasn't lying."

"Yes, but where are you going?"

"..."

"I sense... " He eyed me warily. "That you're planning something stupid."

"It's not stupid if it works." I muttered under my breath.

The rotund man sighed before he pinched his nose ridge and said. "I'll be... around."

"Good to know."

He stared at me.

I stared back.

"Well then," I said, my shoulders stiffening. "I guess I'll be taking my leave... now..."

"Mhmm."

I felt his eyes stare into my soul.

"You're not going to follow me... right?"

"And why would I do that?"

"No reason." I said quickly.

I felt his eyes bore into the back of my skull, even as I slipped into the crowds, quickly disappearing from his sights.

A few minutes of roaming aimlessly got me right where I want to be.

At the lower levels of Mistral.

Cloaked figures roamed the deserted streets only lit by a flickering streetlamp that looked worse for wear.

It really did make a difference with each level descended, and made me shudder at the fact that there was nobody on border patrol.

Actually, scrap that.

There were no borders at all to separate between the slums and the suburbs of Mistral, which means that there could be an incident, and the suspect could've gotten away to god knows where by the time the local police arrive.

With a soft sigh, I made sure Requiem was on my back, before I strolled down the pavement.

A few more minutes passed with people often bumping into one another, cursing like a sailor before walking away as if that was a normal interchange, and a bottle to be flung out of a bar before raucous laughter echoed and a guy was thrown out with his rear end facing up.

I walked around him, even as he mumbled something about paying a bitch's worth and uneven eyes, and then staggered back inside.

He was thrown out again not ten seconds later.

Shaking my head, I sought out what I came to do here in the first place, my eyes darting for the correct store.

I took in a deep breath as the shattered moon started to rise.

"It's got to be here somewhere..." My eyes darted around. "If I'm going to get a good deal out of this one, I'll have to be smart about bargaining."

"It'll work." I whispered to reassure myself as Kevin's words played in my head over and over again. "It'll wo-"

I slammed into glass.

"Ow..." I rubbed the tip of my nose, before my eyes scanned what I'd just hit.

Ornamental cloth draped down like curtains, while a posed mannequin wore a beautifully woven textile for display.

_Well... _I mused_. Would you look at that. Bumping into things does happen after all._

_Just as I was about to retire for the night._

My eyes roved down, and found out something... wrong.

The shoes that clung onto the statue's feet didn't match what was worn above.

They were leather, neatly stitched and masterfully crafted to the finest detail, yet unmatching with the formal dress that rested above.

"Hmm..."

I pushed the doors and was instantly greeted by a chiming bell above my head, and before I could ask for guidance I froze up at the sights before me.

Eight beady eyes stared back to meet mine as they seemingly pulled threads out of seemingly nowhere.

What caught my attention more than ever however, was how they were in torn rags that had left most of their body parts exposed to the cold night air while their hands stopped midway or... mid weave to be more precise, of a pair of unfinished shoes.

Their shocked expressions suddenly turned to confusion and curiosity.

I prayed they wouldn't come any closer.

"P-please continue." I stammered.

Spider Faunus.

Spiders.

_Fuck._

"Who is it?" Someone called from the back. "Wait... we're closed! Please, sir or madam, I'd urge you come back another time, I-!"

The elderly man came rushing out and stumbling on some objects by the sounds of it.

"Please just-!"

When he finally made it out, he froze up and just seemed to grow paler with each passing second.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise.

"Uh..." I rubbed the back of my head and smiled sheepishly before he could pass out. "Heya Shopkeep! Long time no see!"

* * *

**A/N**

**My apologies for the delay on this one, couldn't write at all last week (Work) and had a bit of a writer's block the first half of this week. Also, add the fact that this is sorta a 'filler' or 'connector' chapter, which was never my forte, but hey, you're only human right? Thanks so much for the patience and sticking through!**

**Obviously, I always make it up with a mega chap and promise it'll never go over 3 weeks unless stated! And with a minute to spare too!**

**Also, I know this Mega chap didn't exceed 10k, but any more and I would feel it's forced and purposefully lengthened, and I really don't want that. Last chapter's longer than an average, so I'm sure that makes it up for this one.**

**Also, also haha, yes, last chapter was chapter 69 with no 69's happening. Laugh it up.**

**Hope you all are doing all fine and dandy with this bs going all around!**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

* * *

**Reviewer Session**

**paradox0.5white: Why would that be? What similarity do I have with Emiya?**

**Sacke110: Would you be though? It's the White Fang. Yeeah well, Sienna always seemed reasonable, being in between Ghira (Blake's dad) and Adam, where she would deploy violence when necessary, but won't do it for shits and giggles.**

**Kage-kitsune9001: I'm glad I made your day!**

**DankAnon: Is that legit? I have to search that up in the spreadsheets now... Salt and Peppa, add Kevin to the mix and you need a li'l drizzle of Olive oil. Beautiful. Some buttah, garlic, adds the flavour. Wow. **


	71. Chapter 71

"So... these are your... children." I observed silently, eyes darting back and forth between the two faunuses and the old man over and over again. "Sorry to say, but I see no resemblance between the two of them and you."

"Adopted." He replied softly.

As four beady eyes peered into mine, I sat as still as I could and refrained from making any sudden movements.

_Why did it have to be spiders..._

A small yawn provided the necessary distraction I needed, drawing my eyes to the latter of the two that was seated right beside the Shopkeep.

Yet another yawn, louder and longer this time, slipped past his lips.

Before long, he slowly crawled atop the Shopkeep's lap to take his seat on his meaty throne, before leaning his head back to rest against the senior citizen's dark red apron that seemed worse for wear.

That is to say, discolored in some places, stained near black with what seemed like hot oil on one side, and I was sure I saw a glimpse of a few rips, jutting threads and leftover cotton on his oversized kangaroo pouch as well.

He himself doesn't seem to have aged a day.

His bald head remained shiny in the middle, but his grey hair that grew around his head didn't seem to have whitened or shed one bit. His green clothing was messy and crumpled as if it just came out of the washing machine, while he himself reeked strongly of alcohol and sweat, add on to that an old man's miasma on top, though that is mostly eclipsed by the musky stench of the shop itself.

The Shopkeep gently ran his wrinkled hands through dark brown locks, slowly stroking it in the same pattern repeatedly when the child's head slowly nodded off into slumber, his eyelids seemingly working on separate nerves of their own as they fluttered individually, before drifting shut altogether.

_Well, when I meant I wanted to find a clothing store in the lower parts of Mistral, I was actually expecting to have walked into a night market section, where large, silk sheets were hung for pickings, wrestling with a sea of bodies to place my order and bargain for the lowest prices, which was more of a hassle than it sounds like._

Not... this.

The entire shop seemed devoid of life.

A thick sheet of dust coated every furniture in the room, the wallpaper was torn off in more places than not, revealing the rigorous, discolored bricks that lay within.

Truth be told, this started off as quite a welcome experience from someone who'd done nothing but gets into fights recently, not to mention just recently took a boot square on the face, barreled down a mountain, and fought tp the death without so much as a break in between.

Funny thing is, _now,_ it didn't feel any much different from a giant brawl.

In fact, I would've preferred a fight over this.

Why?

A fight is clear, instant, and straightforward, with the outcome of winning or losing being the deciding factor on who's right and who's wrong.

So, even though this was clearly anything but a vicious bout, why did it feel the same way?

Well.

In summary?

I. Fucked. Up.

Big time.

"So," I started with a drawl as I tried not to stammer out the words. Yeah, not really a great start.

_Deep breaths..._

"People had been constantly moving out of Vale to other parts of Remnant, deeming it unsafe to roam the streets ever since the assault on Beacon, even after they'd cleaned up the remaining Grimm and fixed the walls." I recounted his tale as the former of the two animal hybrids of what I assumed was the older sibling stared up from the floor and cocked her head a near ninety degrees.

She observed me with childlike curiosity as if I was the third living person she'd seen in her entire lifetime.

I tried my best to ignore it, more for the sake of my sanity than hers.

Even though her silhouette moved wavily out of the corner of my eye I tried to ignore the fact that she took that chance of momentary silence to sidle up closer than I would have liked, and continued.

"The current population or, to be more specific, those that dared go out and visit your stores out of necessity more than anything, stopped coming entirely after a certain period of time, and there just wasn't enough lien to cover the rents with how many stores you had in town." He brought his palms up to his face before he nodded into them. "Eventually, despite your best efforts, you were driven into bankruptcy."

He let out a defeated sigh that was muffled by his palms. The way he didn't look up told me what remained of his pride was long gone, flushed down the drain, and into the middle of the ocean, forever adrift in the sea and lost for eternity.

Even with his head hung low, he still basked in the comfort of his adopted child.

_Welp..._ I reprimanded myself as I looked away to hide my guilty expression._ That's what you get for bringing Mount Glenn's worth of Grimm to Beacon you bumbling retard._

Luckily for me, he didn't seem to notice the grumbling that escaped my lips, distracted enough in trying to wrap his apron around his child's sleeping form to prevent him from shivering.

"So," I continued when he made no motion to continue. "You ended up migrating to Mistral yourself about three months ago or so, since the rent was... affordable," I looked around at the dusty, ramshackle mess of a store. "But with how many varying stores already existed, and how some copied your ideas with better quality or producing way more in quantity, not to mention being able to get said items with cheaper prices even further down, you were outnumbered or out skilled in every way, shape, or form."

"As a last resort, with your remaining budget, you decided to open up a shoe store...?" I glanced around at the rows and rows of the empty shoe racks made out of cheap wood that looked like they'd just been installed, yet already had a layer of dust to it as if it hadn't been used in years. "But miscalculated, and ran out of lien before you could even think of opening the shop, let alone the material, resulting in not enough leather to make even a single pair."

"Until these angels came." He finally spoke up with a jumbled sound of a person who was missing the entire bottom row of teeth as he looked into my eyes.

I didn't see anything beyond his eyelids, but I knew for a fact that they were open.

"I was about to sleep, ready to give up, when I heard a loud clatter coming from the living room." He explained. "I came out to see these two and thought they were stealing something, nearly kicked them out too, but then I saw what they were doing." Smiling, he leaned his back towards the counter.

"The shoes were near completion at that point, and without a thread out of place. And those, if you were wondering, were the same exact shoes that were on display." He pointed to the mannequin I saw earlier.

I gave him what I hoped was an impressed nod.

It was quite mind-blowing what the siblings had knitted for something done out of a whim. The only oddity with it is that the mannequin was of a womanly figure, being posed rather femininely with white, silken clothes while the shoes itself was made for a man, polished and all.

_Speaking of which..._

"And the clothes?" I asked.

"T'was their doing as well." The old man sighed yet again as his shoulders slumped forwards, as if he was the most worthless scum on Remnant. "After the shoes, it seemed that they were still eager to craft something. Anything they can get their hands on really." He added quietly when the figure below him started to snore.

"With the material they'd be able to weave out of nowhere, I offered them an idea to make a skirt that'll suit the mannequin." He chuckled lightly as he stroked the child's head. "Never would I have thought they'd have finished in a span of a few hours, let alone so beautifully."

I hummed as I listened in, even as the faunus beside me yanked on my ear with the intention of tearing it off.

_Don't think about small spiders crawling in your ear, don't think about small spiders crawling in your ear!_

"The skirt then soon became a short dress, the dress then became a full-length dress." His tone carried a certain sense of pride a proud parent would have if their child had just graduated from high school. "Even though I guided them on the tapestry to the best of my knowledge, they were the ones that did pretty much everything else." The elder sighed at the fond memory as if it were just yesterday. "The threads they produce are of high quality, and doesn't tear easily, but no customers roamed these levels of Mistral in search of custom-tailored clothing just yet. For obvious reasons." He added when he saw cold sweat ran down the side of my head and mistook it for curiosity.

They wouldn't risk getting robbed or shanked for the sake of what they assumed was cheap, mass-produced, everyday wear.

No doubt they only expected to run into retail shops that'll rip them off down here in the slums, not... fully-fledged experienced tailors that were great at what they're doing.

"Hmm..." I hummed and put on a thoughtful expression.

So this is or... _was_ a clothing store before he rented it or brought it. It wouldn't have the mannequin pre-installed otherwise.

Well, either that or the Shopkeep had just brought it here from one of his past businesses as a memory of what his past life used to be like.

And... there goes the pit in my stomach opening up again.

One of the two spider faunuses shivered out of the corner of my eye, before two small eyes on the left side of his head fluttered open to deliver a drowsy nod in greeting.

I did my best to deliver a friendly wave back without grimacing.

Blake having two pairs of ears I could get used to seeing as a 'normal' thing.

A pair of normal eyes in their sockets and another, much smaller ones close to where the end of their eyebrows was?

This... This will take longer.

Way, way longer.

"Whhellf," I pushed up on my legs eventually, while the little faunus slid off my lap but continued to cling onto my cheek, suspended in mid-air for a few good seconds. "Yhhou're in lhucck." I managed to garble out.

He sent me a questioning look, but instead of explaining in words, I merely dug some papers out of my pockets.

Crumpled and folded they may be, but the contents within remained untouched and legible.

The small faunus eventually let go the moment I started to wave such papers, catching her attention like prey trapped in a spiderweb, pursuing the sheets that were very well out of her reach.

"I need these done in a few days," I said. "With them by your side and being able to produce one or so in a few hour's time," I pointed towards the display case. "I think you wouldn't have any problem."

"Whuh?"

"I'll pay handsomely for it of course," I added if he'd thought me just some sort of thief, and this was just a scam or a setup. "But the deadline has to be precise. Oh, and I'll take those shoes too while at it." I hovered my finger just below the statue's thigh to specify my point just in case his brain stopped working.

It was a male's pair of shoes that were made from black leather, neatly crafted and made from material I would count as more than just passable. I just hoped it was a snug fit.

With the way his mouth had remained widely agape and unmoving for the past few minutes that a spider could've spun its web, I think my thoughts are justified and I'm not too far off the mark.

I then looked down on his lap, then to the floor.

_Well..._ I chuckled in my head. _Maybe that'd hit a little too close to home..._

Both had short hair, recently trimmed if the neatness of it was anything to go by. The girl had dark purple-ish hair with a small nose and all four of her eyes were brown, while the boy was the direct opposite, with and tiny lips, brown hair, and violet pupils.

They couldn't have been a day over twelve and nine respectively, and they wore tattered rags that wrapped around their body loosely, revealing plenty of skin Edgy D would have been more than delighted to drool over, and had small feet that were riddled with scars from walking around barefooted without an Aura.

With a sigh, I dug into my pockets and shook my head.

_Evans is going to kill me if he finds out about this..._

_..._

But something needs to be done.

The Shopkeep still looked dumbfounded, and through his slack-jawed expression, his eyes somehow managed to somehow narrow further at either my face to see if I'm joking or the miracle that just dropped on his head out of seemingly nowhere and trying hard to remember if he'd done any blood pacts to Salem recently.

Eventually, when my arms nearly gave away from holding them out for too long, he reached out to snatch the papers, mistaking the retraction as a form of cancelation.

"Hmm..." Humming, he took a look at the measurements in his hands, observing it skillfully as he rotated it ninety degrees enthusiastically, putting his hand to his chin and scanning it up and down before nodding to himself.

"Four females, Five males... " He muttered under his breath. "Custom-tailored to size... Specific colors and patterns..."

I gave him a few moments of aimless pondering, causing the smaller of the two to stir in his sleep while he mumbled away.

"Think you can do it?" I asked after what felt like an hour or two had passed.

In reality, it might've been just more than just ten minutes, but with the possibility of Kevin heading back to the rented house and sending a search party that included a worried Ruby and a more worried Blake, could I be blamed for wanting to rush things along?

When he didn't seem to have heard me, being too engrossed in my custom orders, I sighed as I waited quietly gave him all the time he needs.

_He needs to measure if he would be capable of achieving it on time or not. _I told myself, trying to be as patient as I could._ He might be arrogant at times, but he is anything but foolish. He knows his limits. And if he couldn't, I could just split the job between him and a few others around Mistral, and all will be fine..._ My eyes trailed down to look at the bed wrangled siblings again, and slowly and cautiously reached out at the halfway point.

Two small, skinny arms reached out and shook- well, more like squeezed- mine, followed by another two that tugged at my fingers, giving me the world's softest massage and drawing a small smile to grace my lips.

"They like you."

My eyes then drew upwards to meet the Shopkeep's.

He had a toothy grin of his face as he stacked the papers neatly on top of his lap. "Alright then, I'll accept."

A relieved sigh escaped my lips.

"I'll do what I can. I'll need time to gather the dye and some other material that isn't silk or cotton. If you could do half the payment now, I could probably do it faster than intend-"

His eyes widened and for once, I saw something within those slits when a huge sum of lien spilled onto the table.

A fly could've flown into his throat and he wouldn't have noticed.

His body was petrified like a statue. Unmoving, even after his child basically shook him and tug at his apron.

I nodded off to the table to give him my permission.

With a heavy gulp that echoed around the room so silent you could hear a pin drop, he looked to me once more for permission even after I'd given it.

Again, I just shrugged easily and jerked my chin towards the table.

"S-sir, this is too much." He counted the pile of currencies on the table, arms shaking uncontrollably with each one he'd set down.

"One hundred percent payment upfront then. Keep the change." I smiled back. "Buy yourself and your kids something nice. Maybe clothing or a pair of shoes of their own."

He looked up towards the ceiling as he fell to his knees, before tears started to trail down the sides of his face.

His children stood beside him and rubbed his back, wondering what just happened.

The boy even tried his hardest to give me a stink eye. Needless to say, it was as intimidating as Ruby attempting to pull it off.

Shopkeep muttered a watery 'Thank you' in my vague direction, before his words became jumbled and incomprehensible, breaking down in tears completely as he put his hands to cover his face and sobbed on all fours, head planted on the floor.

I couldn't help but maintain the genuine smile that slipped on my face as I headed out.

"It's the least I could do."

A bell chimed as I found myself back out, roaming the streets once more.

"Well," I chuckled to myself as I patted my vest down any dirt and dust. "Guess it's time to head back. I hope I'm in time for dinne-"

A body was thrown in my direction.

Reflexes kicked in and I arched backward, planting my fist on its sides, bleeding off his momentum so that he wouldn't hit the ground too hard.

He stumbled behind me, tumbling and rolling a few times before crashing on a wall in a cloud of dust.

"What the-"

"You bitch!" A gruff voice yelled before his arm was twisted backward and a wet snap resulted in a few of his fingers bending at a funny angle.

His face planted on the ground not a second later before his body was propelled forwards, sliding on the pavement with a loud squeaking noise equivalent to nails getting dragged down the chalkboard.

His nose dug into wet mud, carving out a small line on the ground before coming to a screeching halt.

Before I could ask if he was okay he screamed and grabbed his hand out in the sheer amount of pain he was feeling, shouting aloud about a multi-colored bitch.

_Multi-colored...?_

A small glance towards the direction where the assault came from had me freezing.

I gaped when I saw just who put that large man to such a state.

Of course it's her. Who else would it have been?

A short figure stood with a parasol by her side, greeting me with a flamboyant bow and a shit-eating grin.

"Neo?!"

_Shift_

"Where is he?" Yang snarled utter disbelief, biting down on one of her fingernails as she paced around the living room in large, anxious strides while her heels dug into the wooden floorboards. "They were supposed to return hours ago." Her hands flung up. "Hours!"

"Calm down Firecracker, I'm sure it's their first time around Mistral and they're just caught up exploring." Her uncle waved off before his forearm fell back down to cover his eyes with a plop.

For some reason, the fully-fledged Huntsman was keeping his hip flask very, very far out of his reach and not trying to drink his way to sleep like he usually does.

"Yeah Yang..." Ruby muttered idly as she seemed to be deep in thought, her voice sounding shaky and uncertain but trying to convince herself that everything was alright. "He's probably in one of the weapon shops, trying to get Dust for us to use..."

"Rubes."

"Hmm?" The small reaper looked up to meet her sister's deadpan gaze.

"He's not you." Yang flicked a finger across her forehead, getting her to squeak out in surprise and rub her temples.

Once she was done, she glared as best as she could at her sister.

"Hey!" The red hooded girl flailed her arms, beating it into Yang's chest.

"We should look for him." Blake suggested, hiding her frown by sipping some nice, warm tea. That didn't do much to calm her down however, and she scowled afterward as she looked into her reflection in the light brown mixture. "It wouldn't do for us to lose him again."

"I'll get my gear and we'll-"

"In the lower parts of Mistral? At this time?" Qrow scoffed as he used Harbinger to prop himself up. Even with the dark circles under his eyes, he actually wasn't used to getting long hours of rest this early. "You kids stay put. I'll go."

"But-"

"Follow me, and I'll make sure Tai _knows_ you've been sharing rooms with a man."

Silence befell the whole room.

Ruby's face drained of all color, while Yang winced at Qrow's statement.

"I'm gonna go with you." Blake claimed.

"Don't be such a sourpuss." The unkempt man snapped back. "I'll drag his ass back here myself if I have to. And don't worry, he'll live." Qrow's face hardened. "I still have some questions that need answers."

"You can't stop me from-"

"You're staying Blake." Yang concluded. "We're not about to let you go look for the White Fang at this time. Especially if Adam's out there."

Blake's shocked face told them that Yang hit the nail right on its head.

"He'll be fine." The blonde brawler reassured. "Qrow is the strongest Huntsman I know." Then, as an afterthought, she added. "Well, second strongest if you include dad. Third if you include Louis and that armou-"

"Brat." The unkempt man called out from the door. "Guess that settles that." Taking one last look at his nieces, he added. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back. Got it?"

That last bit was aimed more towards Ruby than anything, Yang could tell.

As the door closed, the siblings just looked at each other and wondered what would happen if Louis actually had to meet their dad, and how they were to explain _why_ he was kept out of all the letters they'd been writing to him.

The small reaper shivered.

Yang tried to calm herself by drawing her sister in for a hug, though she couldn't help but shudder herself.

They wouldn't wish that upon their worst enemy.

_Louis's POV_

"So a renowned criminal, a mute, and a Huntsman-in-training walk into a bar."

"Don't even start." Said criminal rubbed his temples. "Had enough trouble for one night."

"You're telling me." I glanced around a mess of a bar where bodies littered the floor evenly like a brand new carpet trend. "You'd been... " I tried to think of the correct word. "Busy."

To their credit, the bodies were twitching every now and then, so they at least tried to keep them alive. Props to them to that.

"And you've been... alive." He shot back.

When I didn't smile, he shrugged.

"Well, I'd be lying if I told you this isn't awkward." Torchwick admitted with a nervous laugh. "Never thought I'd meet you here kid," He then took out what looked like a large, Cuban cigar drawn from his back pocket, Neo assisting in lighting the tip with a lighter she'd so politely 'borrowed' from one of the many bodies lying down on the floor.

He drew in a long breath of unfiltered smoke, holding it deep within his lungs, before expelling it in front of my face. "Or ever again for that matter."

"And I'd never thought you'd escape here of all places." I sighed back as Neo's face popped up on my shoulders."Or be causing trouble so soon." I glared at him when he held both arms up in defeat like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I had to hold the urge to sigh, but couldn't quite keep it in. "But, once a criminal always a criminal I guess. So," I uncrossed my arms and held the rim of the barstool. "How had staying off the radar gone for any of you?"

I felt Neo's small fingers link and brush across the back of my neck, before she pushed down with both forearms and rested her chin atop of it. I imagined what looked like a pondering expression spreading across her face.

"Absolutely marvelous," The orange-haired criminal spun his cane around his wrist skillfully before gently slamming the tip of Melodic Cudgel on the floor.

A pained cry confirmed my suspicions that he wasn't doing that just for show.

A bearded man folded double and shot up near upright with a sour expression on his face that told me where _exactly_ Torchwick hit, before his back slammed back down on the floor.

He didn't get back up.

The charismatic criminal then leaned his elbow onto the crook of weapon, treating it as an armrest while he idly took another huge whiff of his large cig before speaking. "No femme fatales chewing you up for every single Beringel wrench thrown in her plans, no more worrying about your ass getting cooked too well done with a tad too much salt and not enough love put into it, and I'm on top of the criminal underground once again."

Neo cheered with a quick twirl around. It would have been a welcome sight if only she wasn't drilling a second belly button into someone else's stomach.

He groaned and tried to reach out for her legs, but the nimble figure delivered a quick strike to his face, knocking him out cold once more.

"Ah, it feels so good to be back." He laughed heartily as he lifted one leg atop of another and leaned back from his barstool, purposefully kicking the face of a man who was about to get up from under his feet along the way. "I feel like I'm on top of the world!"

"Sounds like you're having the time of your life."

"That, I am." I felt Neo nodding silently in agreement from behind me. "And it's all thanks to you kid." He winked and tapped his cigar on someone's unconsciously open mouth as a makeshift ashtray, and then brought the blunt end of the stick up to his lips again. "This calls for a celebration! Drinks are on me!"

"Yeeeaah... about that..." I was sure I saw the bartender trying his hardest to mind his business in the corner of the bar counter, sighing and grumbling under his breath about cleaning up as if this was just another Monday. "I think I'll pass. Forgive me to say, but getting intoxicated with a Huntsman level criminal and a silent assassin really isn't what one would call an enticing offer." Then, after taking one more look towards the bodies, I made to ask. "Business didn't go as planned I take it?"

"It went accordingly," He admitted while he drew his barstool closer to mine, before his lips turned into a scowl. "Until they tried to convince me to throw Neo in as part of the deal."

"Ah," I nodded in understanding as the girl somehow slipped under my arms and into my guard, giving me a silent frown. For some reason, I felt it safe to trust her to get this close, even when her parasol lay by her side.

My lips suddenly tingled. "Of course."

She seemed to be mostly unhurt, without a single sweat broken as she cocked her head playfully.

"No munchkin," I smirked. "I didn't miss you one bit."

She pouted.

"Enough about me. How have you been kid?" He unfolded his legs and extinguished the lit end on someone's earlobe, causing the person to howl before Neo silenced him with her parasol. "Must be looking for trouble if you're roaming around these parts of Mistral." His eyes narrowed. "Just a disclaimer, I have absolutely no idea where Cinder might be if you're here to reclaim that favor I owe you for saving my hide back at Vale. She hasn't resurfaced since Beacon and still hadn't shown herself near these par-"

"Dead."

"...But if you could throw in some lien, I could maybe get some of my contacts down in the lower and upper parts of Mistral to do some scouti-"

His eyes widened not a moment later as the grip on his cane and weapon tightened.

"Run that by me again."

"She's dead." I repeated nonchalantly as I started to drink a can of beer.

"Oh." Both he and Neo blinked owlishly when they looked at each other, before they turned to stare blankly at me. "Uhm, you're sure?"

"Yep."

Neo poked my sides.

"You're really sure?"

I gave him a cold glare.

"Okay, okay." He held both hands towards me, waving me down. "How?"

"How what?" I asked.

"How'd she get killed?" He asked back. "Last I checked, she was the world's hottest, no pun intended, cleverest, most cunning chick I've ever met. Not to mention, the most well planned. She wouldn't let any of the loose ends bite her back in that sweet ass." Then, after a moment of thought, he added. "Actually, when it comes to Cinder, you wouldn't have any loose ends to clean up at all!"

"Well," I shrugged. "Let's just say it's a loose end that went over her head."

"Adam?" Torchwick guessed as he tried to figure it out. "Angry White Fang members? No, they'd be too dumb to think of something like that. That bull may be full of himself, but he wouldn't do something so reckless, especially after Cinder returned destroying his camp."

I coughed meaningfully into my fist.

"No way it's those brats from Beacon... Qrow Branwen? No. Even the headmaster of Beacon wasn't able to deal with her firey Semblance. Ironwood? Maybe. But that blockhead has to have brought the entire Atlesian fleet to hunt her dow-"

I coughed again, harsher this time.

"You got a sore throat or something kid? Bartender! Give us a glass of wa-"

Neo smacked his head with his parasol.

"What the hell was that fo-"

He took one look at Neo's crossed arms, then slowly drew his eyes up to meet mine.

"No." He said slowly.

"Yeah." I confirmed.

Torchwick stared at me for a long, hard moment in utter disbelief, still not being able to believe the fact that the figure that haunted his nightmares was gone, just like that.

"Outsmarted... by the kid?" He muttered into his palms. "I must be losing my touch." He then put his arms around the heterochromatic girl's shoulder. "Am I getting old?"

Neo looked to me as if asking permission, before looking back in the man's direction, then pausing in a thoughtful posture for a bit for dramatic effect, before nodding once.

Torchwick made a sound equivalent to a dying horse.

_That was completely unnecessary..._ I deadpanned as Neo savored her partner's expression, regarding me with a teasing wink.

"There's no way she'd allow that... no way. How could she lose to someone... to you of all people."

"I'm right here y'know." I deadpanned yet again, though this time at Torchwick.

"No way she could've lost a fight. Any fight for that matter." He continued muttering to himself.

_Yep..._ I sighed internally. _He's gone._

"There must be something I'm missi-"

Realization seemed to kick him out of his trance, for his eyes widened like dinner plates.

He was free.

Finally free.

There was no longer a reason to hide anymore.

He could go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

It nearly caused him to fall off his barstool, but regained his composure at the last moment, breathing heavily as he stared at his drink like it was poisoned.

As if reading his thoughts, and right on queue, Neo suddenly clung to my side and seemed unwilling to let go.

"Uh..."

Torchwick joined her soon after, going for my left leg.

"Ack!"

"You are a lifesaver kid! I never thought I'd say it to anyone who wasn't my adoptive father who taught me how to steal my first bike! First Beacon, and now this? What did we ever do to deserve you?"

"Don't. Push. Your. Luck!" Each word was hissed out with a forceful jerk of my legs to try and shake the main villain of Volume one off of me. "Get off!"

"I'll change my ways, I promise! Let us come with you!"

Neo nuzzled her face into my side and nodded into my vest.

"No!" I howled. "Little Red will see you as nothing more than a guy to beat up!"

"She could beat me up all she wants, as long as I'm staying alive!" The charismatic criminal shot back. "Come on kid, you don't want poor Torchwick getting eaten alive by a Griffon or something now do you?"

I nearly choked.

Just as I was about to reach the door and make my way out, he just clung tighter onto my leg which, if not for my Aura, would've been snapped in two.

Despite not having an iron grip such as Yang, Nora, or Ruby, he was still a Huntsman worthy opponent with enough strength to deal with standard Grimm.

"I. Have. To. GO!"

"Neo, do the thing!"

I looked down to see a small pout form on her lips.

"Nice try." I rolled my eyes. "But I'm used to it from-"

Her eyes started glinting. Her pout seemed to widen and quiver.

_Fuck._

"It's working Neo! It's working!"

"Shut up!"

The door flapped inward with a forceful blow, as if it was just kicked inward.

"Kid, you in her-?"

Qrow gaped there at the doorway, with Harbinger at the ready.

I glanced behind him to see the few bodies that were piled outside.

His eyes then flicked at Torchwick, who had his arms around my neck, then at me, then at Neo, who for some reason, was straddling my hips with her arms finding purchase on my chest.

"Qrow, it's not what it looks like."

He then looked to the piles and piles of bodies that littered the whole bar.

"A few hours and already you're kidnapped again?" The Huntsman groaned into his palms as Harbinger transformed into a scythe. "I guess Ruby was right after all. We couldn't let you out of our sights at all."

"Okay, maybe it's half of what it looks like?"

"Uhh... kid...?" Torchwick looked at me with a pleading expression as cold sweat traveled down the side of his brow.

"Hey, you said you want to come with." I shrugged in response before my lips twisted into a vicious smirk. "Consider this an icebreaking session."

Without warning, Qrow charged at him.

* * *

**A/N**

**Well, 10 days for this one. Not bad eh?**

**Chapter 71 and it's the middle of the year already. Dang, time sure flies. **

**Also, we'd hit a ton of landmarks this year, and near 300 reviews, so thank you so much for reading and reviewing, couldn't have done this without you guys!**

**Hope you all stay safe from this, even with the ever so rising numbers.**

**Damnit Karen...**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

* * *

**Reviewer Session**

**paradox0.5White: Ah, yikes. Uh, yeah well pretty sure after I/Louis revealed what we are it all went south xD.**

**sacke110: Read what you will and feel how you will. I'm just trying to make lore and make it good. Good to know your hatred for Raven is back. I hope I haven't deviated too much from what you expected. Yes she is a terrible mother, I know, but she does care for the tribe, thus your saying of OOC ness a few chapters ago. Shopkeep is... basically the Stan Lee of RWBY.**

**DankAnon: Oh no, double blonds? That's gonn be disastrous, just like Sun and Jaune. I demand this Bella Booty... for research purposes. Pretty sure her name is full on Chinese but eh. Canon Jaune apparently, cuz he prefers small flat girls like Weiss. You stay safe too.**


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N**

**Welp, I apologize for the delay on this one, was planning to actually release a typical 6.5k Chapter last week but some co workers just had to screw it up and not take Corona seriously.**

**That apparently resulted in more than half of my division/team getting fired from eating in a cramped room with literally 1 or so meter away from each other without masks, and near tripled my workload last week so I couldn't type this at work like I usually do.**

**Hopefully, this doesn't happen too often, and as to how I'm able to get this Mega Chap out at a 3 week mark? Well, one night of sleep had to be sacrificed.**

**Hope u guys are doing better than I am.**

* * *

Oscar fell face-first into the pillow with a loud plop as he tried his best to relax.

His legs followed soon after, dropping out of the air like wingless Nevermores.

They felt like they're chained to two heavy logs after walking without so much as a break in between. The small room he'd got was a welcome experience as he let the soft comforts of the mattress consume him with a guttural sigh.

It was a far cry than what he had at home, and not in a bad way. His body felt like putty the moment it made contact, diving him into an ocean of calm.

He readjusted his pillow, fluffing it again for what felt like the fifth time, and stared at it like he was expecting an Ursa to burst out of its seams at any given moment.

It was calm.

_Too_ calm.

Before he knew it, his left hand had moved on its own, trailing across his body and pinching his right forearm to make sure it wasn't just his desperate mind playing tricks on him, that this wasn't some silly dream or some cruel afterlife while his real self was still in the hands of the enemy.

His arm actually hurt, easing his thoughts.

Fatigue and relief immediately washed over his body, blanketing his skin like a cool night breeze.

His body slowly rolled over to his side to alleviate the aching pain that was causing his limbs to twitch every now and then, not even bothering to take off his battered gloves, which were riddled with dirt and some dark red splotches of what seemed to be, dried blood.

Most of which, was of his own.

Even though they had patched him up to the best of their potential, it didn't mean that the pain from the previous assault had been all but forgotten.

His chest still flared and felt inflamed from time to time, and he was sure that the monster of a lady, now dead, punctured a hole in one of his lungs with her glass slippers the moment she kicked him with enough force to send him flying through a wall.

It had been leaking severely at the time, and if it weren't for their assistance, he would've been long dead, his body discarded in the forest riddled with Grimm as they gnaw on his carcass, stripping the flesh off his bones while bandits pillaged his remains for valuables.

How ironic that said bandits, the ones that his mother and other relatives had warned not to mess, let alone interact with, had been the ones who came to his aid and provided his medical needs.

He didn't know if he should feel bad knowing the fact that said supplies were taken from other people though.

With a sigh, he rolled over, kicked off his boots, and slowly splayed his arms out.

One hand reached out for the ceiling, letting the sole light from above seep through the space between his fingers.

Mistral, or... town as came to call it growing up, was actually bigger than expected without his aunt's guidance.

To be honest, he was partially grateful for the voice in his head instructing him directions on where to go, because he would have been completely lost without it.

Only partially... because following it had resulted in him being nearly beaten to death.

His hand clenched into a shaky fist.

"Am I really that... useless?" Oscar threw the self-imposed question through gritted teeth. "Both at home and now... over here too?"

He never asked for this, deep inside, he knew.

Knew that nothing good awaited him if he followed the voice within his head.

Yet, after constant prodding at how important it is that they make it to Mistral that caused him to nearly scream his lungs out in front of his aunt at the dinner table and nonstop criticizing what he was doing entirely wrong with his daily routines, he wasn't able to take much more and eventually gave in, if only to retain his sanity.

Seriously, how does one not get tired of commenting on doing everything perfectly everyday?

It started with simple and minor nitpicks, but soon it evolved to pointing out soaping every crevice he can put his hands into, to what kinds of foods he's eating, making his bed, brushing his teeth, doing a number one, doing a number two, walking.

Yes, apparently one can walk wrong.

With another sigh, his forearm shifted to block out the light that was all of a sudden very blinding.

There was no use complaining about it.

He was safe and sound now, that's all that mattered.

As if the trauma had been a trigger to a switch, his mind automatically tried to cheer him up, deciding to display happy thoughts out of the blue.

His lips twisted into a goofy smile when an image of a short-haired girl flashed through his head, reminding him as to just _who_ patched him up.

_She was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined._

Sure, Ozpin had flashed an image of the small Huntress through his head, but he'd only had a glimpse before pain lanced up his spine and squirmed its way onto his head. After that incident, he'd never gotten a glimpse of her again for a month or so...

Until now.

He couldn't help the heat that was creeping up his neck and turning his cheeks crimson while his heart decided to hammer against his chest.

It didn't help much that she was about his age as well.

He hoped nobody was outside his door to listen to the weird high pitched gurgling his throat was producing.

And best of all, no Ozpin to interup-

Pain flooded his senses as if he'd just been kicked in the head.

"Arrgh!"

"_**I've warned you time and time again to refrain flashing me images from an excessively healthy and highly imaginative teenage mind.**_" The voice within his head sighed. "_**Why must you be so hormonal? Out of all the different lives and vessels I've been through, never have I been met with someone with such insatiable libido and...**_"

The rest of his words were jumbled and muted as Oscar's brain short-circuited.

He caught the first few words, but that was about it.

Only when he finally regained his composure from stumbling to the floor in a heap of blankets and limbs from the initial shock did he ask. "Y-you were there?!" The small boy gasped. "This entire time... y-you were there?!"

"_**Of course I was.**_" Ozpin scoffed as if offended. "_**I never left. Though not by choice, mind you.**_" He added after a pregnant pause that somehow made the statement seem much less sincere than it should.

"Then... why did you remain silent?" Oscar asked. "We met up with your contact," He winced when Ozpin started to ramble in an absentminded monotone, tripping over his own words about his past lives having no good traitors.

It sounded like he was in a trance, as if his spirit was possessed by another.

Oscar didn't like that idea.

"I meant your... second contact." The boy amended quickly. He then thought long and well for a moment on what to say lest he triggers another PTSD.

"Qrow was his name, if I recall. You could've come out then and there to confirm that you were actually in there. They don't really look like they trust me that much at all..." He added whilst rubbing his elbow as he staggered to stand up.

That seemed to do the trick, for the voice within his head trailed off and came back with his usual, enigmatic voice.

"_**Wasn't it obvious?**_"

Oscar waited for an explanation.

"_**...**_"

Oscar waited longer.

"_**...I**** was," **_Ozpin drawled on. _**"T****o put it lightly...**_"

The poor farm boy didn't know when he stopped breathing, but his lungs had apparently stopped working in sheer anticipation and made him subconsciously hold his breath, tinting his face into a somewhat blue hue.

"_**Asleep.**_"

He facefaulted while his legs twitched whilst mid-air.

"_**Being a headmaster of Beacon is a very endearing task Oscar, and has its tolls.**_" Ozpin spoke carefreely. "**_After all, it's not like you enjoy drinking my fair share of coffee-_**"

"You call that heaping black sludge a drink?!" He near shouted that ended up being more of a shriek. "And seven cups a day?!" The voice within his head scoffed something about being weak-willed. "Even one nearly got my heart to explode. Are you trying to kill me?!"

"_**It keeps the fatigue out and refreshes the mind.**_" The sagely voice within scoffed again. "_**Didn't you tell your aunt you wanted to be an adult?**_"

"I take it back." Groaning, his hands flew to his mouth as the bitter taste invaded his tongue once more. His tone was full of regret of even having the curiosity to have a taste of the toxic concoction in the first place. He wished he could rewind time and stop himself.

It was pure evil! Black and viscous, just like the Grimm! That can't merely be a coincidence... right?

Right?!

Unfortunately, even a single sip had awakened the bloodthirsty lich that was Ozpin, and he thirsted for the blood of a thousand innocents that was condensed and collected into an unholy chalice.

Then, realization dawned on him. He had tasted...

Death.

"**_You really should stop referring to me as a one-sided freeloader._**" Oscar could hear the deadpan in his voice. "_**I may not inhabit your body by choice, but the last thing I am is a manipulative parasite that misuses children for my own needs.**_"

That, that was exactly what he was.

And boy, did he crave. Crave such powers from the infinite pool of bitter darkness that creeps under your skin and corrupts your soul, reaching for the roots of your heart in a matter of seconds-

"_**You watch way too many Mistrali cartoons.**_" Ozpin sighed. "_**It's not good to draw inspiration from those you know? Far too exaggerated at the best of times.**_"

"I just saw a girl wielding a giant scythe on her back." Oscar managed to point out loud without sounding somewhat deadpan. "And you are in charge of the Huntsmen, people with superpowers opposing the forces of evil."

"**_It's called a Semblance._**" It sounded like he was exasperated, explaining it for what felt like the hundredth time now. "_**And the Huntsmen will continue to roam and protect the people had I or the other headmasters decide to step down. At any rate, Miss Rose didn't have some 'upper edge' that she gained through the power of friendship to defeat some 'undefeatable' foe-**_"

"Uhm... " Oscar drawled on. "Actually..."

Ozpin fell silent.

"**_Oscar._**"

"Yes?"

"_**Just exactly happened in my slumber?**_"

"They had to fight that... " Oscar pondered a moment with closed eyes before shuddering as he recalled what she did to him. "That Cinder lady."

"_**Ah,**_" Ozpin didn't sound surprised.

If anything, he sounded... curious?

"_**T****he one that exhausted all my strength in the first place.**_" He said after a moment of silent pondering. "_**Not for the first time either.**_"

The boy's shoulders stiffened.

"What...?" Oscar asked.

"_**You didn't think you'd survive a Maiden's assault on your own did you?**_" Ozpin chuckled. "_**The very reason you didn't break your ribs while your spine remains intact is that I've made a small force field to shield your vitals mere moments before the impact.**_"

"B-But I..." Oscar trailed off as he searched for the correct words. "I felt the blow... " He gulped. "The pain."

"_**Only because I was not able to regain full control of your body with the limited window of time I was given****.**_" Ozpin scoffed. "_**I**** apologize,**_ " He sounded anything but. "_**But it was the best I could do at the time.**_"

Suddenly, Oscar felt the urge to pat his body down to make sure it was still in one piece.

Then, it hit him.

"I can make force fields now?"

"_**Force Fields, Teleportation, Time Displacement, Flight, well, more of a hover really...**_" As Ozpin drawled on and on, Oscar's smile just grew wider and wider while his body shook with excitement. "_**We'll talk more about that later. Did Miss Rose and the others...?**_"

What was he talking about again? Oh right.

He got so excited about the prospect of being one of the most powerful characters like those shows or movies that he watched that he nearly forgot what they were on about.

"They'd won." Oscar laughed proudly. "And they won together." He added with a small hint of satisfied smugness to his voice.

It was good to have his shoe on the other foot, being the one to fill the seemingly all-knowing voice in his head in for once, rather than being lectured about the importance of saving the world to no end.

"_**...**_"

"..."

"_**And the Maiden's powers?**_"

Maiden...?

_Uh..._

"Well," Oscar's smile faded as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I think I overheard them saying something about it being out of reach for now, though they are keeping an eye on it." He added before Ozpin could interject.

It didn't do him much good.

Like a cow getting their hay snatched away from them mid-meal, Ozpin sighed melancholically.

"_**Then we have yet won." **_The usually calm voice muttered under his breath._** "Though I guess the defeat of one of Salem's chosen and the original Fall Maiden's assailant is a small victory on its own.**_"

"Yes." Oscar agreed.

"She... They," He corrected as a small smile made it's way to his lips. "Rescued me. Rescued us."

"_**Well,**_" Ozpin chuckled. "_**That certainly is an interesting development if I do say so myself.**_" He then mumbled something about silver eyes and making the correct choice to have her under his wing. "_**A****fter all, she was part Grimm. Cinder that is, not Miss Rose.**_" He felt the need to add when Oscar's heart started to hammer and his legs shuffled uneasily.

Oscar calmed down quickly, and then remembered how they had worked together to defeat a common enemy. How the pair, that was clearly a couple, were so undeniably efficient in their fighting styles and motions.

Their flawless cooperation was perfect until she decided to play dirty and take hostages.

He stood there in the sidelines thinking cool they were.

How he wanted to be like them.

Ozpin must have mistaken his lingering silence for confusion, and felt the need to explain.

"_**Even though being part Grimm tends to have added benefits such as enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and durability, they also share a common weakness.**_" He didn't specify as to what though. "_**I suppose I would have to congratulate her on that, should I get the chance. **_"

Oscar silently agreed, and not just because he secretly... adored her.

They had genuinely saved him from the brink of death.

"_**B**__**ut back to the topic at hand,**_" Ozpin continued, drawing out a groan as if he were getting lectured by a parent all over again. "_**You really shouldn't be expecting a miracle like that to happen too often."**_

"What do you mean?" Oscar asked.

_**"Team RWBY may be a capable team of Huntresses, but what if they get into an unwanted predicament where they are left to fend for**** themselves," **_Ozpin seemed to reminisce in regretful and saddened memory, and though he didn't show it, Oscar could _feel_ it._** "A****nd can't? What if they die?"**_

Oscar gasped loudly. "Don't say things like that!"

_**"Hypothetically speaking, of course. I wish them no ill will. What then? We do not have people or magical items that are capable of bringing them back from death's clutche-**_"

"Uhm..." Oscar felt the need to interrupt once more. "Actually..."

Ozpin fell dead silent.

He somehow heard Ozpin let out a rare, exasperated sigh and imagined him pinching his nose ridge. At least that's what it felt like since he had no physical form.

"_** Yes...****?**_" He asked with the most strained voice Oscar had ever heard off a man.

"Remember that Louis guy that you said was..."

"_**Deceased?**_" When Oscar didn't reply for well over a minute, Ozpin knew for a fact that he didn't know what it'd meant. "_**Dead?**_"

"Yeah... about him he's..." Oscar didn't manage to get far before Ozpin let out a string of curses from languages before his time that involved something to do with 'God', 'Light', and 'Immortality' that caused his ears to ring.

Clamping his hands over his ears only had the opposite effect, causing it to reverberate and echo within his skull.

And like that one annoying and catchy song that keeps playing over and over again, it didn't go away.

While this was happening, he had to wonder if his idol was doing better than him.

_Louis's POV_

"Kid!" Torchwick's eyes were frantic as he ducked under a swing that would've decapitated his head clean off his shoulders. "A little help would be nice!"

"Hear anything Neo?" I asked.

Neo shook her head.

"You piece of shi-!"

"Raargh!"

The round table got split in two.

The bartender flung the damp rag on the serving table with a loud slap, before flinging both hands into the air in clear frustration as he gave up and stormed into the back room.

His rude gesture went unnoticed.

As splintered wood and sawdust rained down around them with a multitude of crackling noises, the dust cleared, and a clear outline of two silhouettes slowly came into view.

Torchwick had his legs spread widely on the wooden floorboards to avoid Harbinger's blade, which was lodged directly in between, missing his groin by a few inches.

"So, you ready to give him back yet?" Qrow asked.

"I-I never kidnapped him!" The criminal tried as he held his cane to block the upward strike that nearly caught him in the chin.

The Huntsman spared a quick glance at me for confirmation.

"Sure," I rolled my eyes with my back against a few wooden crates stacked atop one another. "He only clung onto my legs for his dear life, unwilling to let go until he meets Ruby and the rest in person. I'll leave the rest for you to decide."

Qrow snarled, eyes widening when he spun around to stare down a hollow barrel. He swatted it out of the thief's hands as an incendiary bullet flew past his face and strayed towards the nearest wooden beam.

He then brought his blade back down with twice the force.

It clanged, rasped, and rattled as both weapons locked into place. Torchwick hissed through gritted teeth and his arms looked like it was on the verge of giving away.

"O-only to say h-hi!" The thief shot me a glare as he tried to pull something out of his bag of tricks, but I shrugged, and so did Neo from my side. He seemed to have just remembered his partner was there. "Neo help!"

The acrobat's finger rose to her cheek as she considered it with a thoughtful expression.

"I'll buy you ice cream if you don't." I offered to the heterochromatic girl.

Neo then shot glances between her partner in crime's frantic expression and me, before holding my gaze and smiling coyly.

She nodded in silent agreement.

"Argh!" Torchwick somehow regained his cane and sent an explosive round that detonated at point-blank range, tearing apart the wooden floorboards to build some distance between him and the experienced Huntsman, but didn't get very far before Qrow caught up and slammed Harbinger's pommel into his back.

He near crumpled, but then swept his cane in a low angle that caught Qrow in the leg and had him wobbling for purchase.

A handful of splintered wood and sawdust met his face not a second later.

"Shit!" Qrow swung blindly.

"I won't be where I am now if I never learned to play dirty!"

"Get back here!"

"Forgive me for saying," Torchwick ducked under his blade, before jumping above another wide strike, only to land imbalanced amongst a table that had one of its legs chopped off. Still, he managed. "But I just don't swing that way."

"Raaaargh!"

Neo playfully kicked both of her legs, her body swaying back and forth the entire time as she sat to my side.

I could imagine her humming a happy tune to herself had she not been mute, while I just stood by, arms crossed as I watched the scuffle unfold.

_That's what you get for all the trouble you'd given us you muddled fuckwad._

_You're lucky that I even managed to persuade Neo to switch sides and saved your life after what you did._

My eyes trailed to the munchkin in question.

_Speaking of..._

"So, how have you been?" I asked suddenly.

Without meeting my eyes, she made a gesture with her palm laid flat in the air, before rocking it from side to side.

"So-so?" She nodded lightly. "Well, that's not too bad considering what you had to do in Vale. I'm more surprised you didn't come and swing by to visit."

Without a so much as a consideration, she jabbed her thumb sideways, placing the blame directly at Torchwick, who was trying to duck under and over Qrow's wide swings again as he was put on the back foot. Her expression was nothing short of deadpan.

"Well... " I scratched my cheek. "Guess he would be slightly screwed by the time Little Red and the others even so much as _make_ eye contact with him." I chuckled as she nodded grimly. "Which surprises me even more that they trusted you at all to get me out of the Emerald Forest and onto that Bullhead. Thanks by the way."

She crossed her arms and huffed silently, before her head turned back in the direction of the fight.

"I know that I was heavy at the time," I admitted with a small cringe and with my shoulders sagging just a tad bit. "And that it wasn't part of the deal," I added with a wince when I realized just how bad that sounded. "And that you were supposed to be home free the moment that EMP went off and the main Atlesian battleship went down," When she didn't budge or change her defiant posture, I finally let out a heavy sigh.

My hand rose slowly.

"But you came back for me so..."

What seemed like a foreign feeling to her seemed to caught her off guard, warranting a small jerk from the short girl.

My hand stayed atop her head, but she made no motion to swat it off or take the blade right out of her parasol.

Her shoulders were stiff and remained as still as a statue when I started to stroke her hair gently.

"Thank you." I said honestly while my other finger subconsciously scratched my cheek. "Pretty sure I would've been in a really bad place without your help."

Her head slowly turned and stopped halfway to meet my eyes, and though it flicked in my direction for only a brief moment before meeting the floor, it wasn't with any malicious intent.

Pretty sure I saw some flecks of pink dusting her cheeks.

_Wait..._

"You're glad I'm made it out too..." My eyes widened in realization.

Suddenly, she found the fight very, very interesting, trying her hardest to ignore me when a small chuckle slipped past my lips.

It didn't last long enough to be a burst of full-blown laughter as another loud clang echoed in my hear. My eyes snapped back to the fight, right on time to see a pillar being knocked out of its foundation.

"Give!" In a fraction of a second, Qrow had somehow moved his blade to the man's throat while Torchwick had the barrel of his weapon down the older man's groin.

"Not if you want to stick it in anyone ever again." He pushed it further in, pushing the shape inside said trousers into a pinched crease.

Qrow winced, more in surprise than in pain, but his Aura held strong and he didn't falter. If anything, he pushed onwards.

"Look who's talking." Qrow countered by doing the same, further pushing his blade by just an inch further to tickle the criminal's Aura, threatening to break it.

"I'm warning you..."

"I can take it." Harbinger whirred and clicked, refraining from completely extending into a large scythe, but allowing it's segmented blades to shift into position and arc outwards, causing multiple sharp edges to appear in front of the thief's horrified eyes. "Go on." He challenged. "Do you worst."

They held their gazes long and unrelenting, emerald staring into crimson defiantly, neither willing to be the first to give in.

Out of the corner of my eyes, Neo made a motion of swinging either an imaginary pole or a golf club in the air, before she ran her thumb over the length of her neck and letting her head fell limp on her left shoulder, before jabbing her other thumb two times onto the pair and then finally, raising a brow.

"No no, he won't kill him." I reassured with a wave of my hand. "I wouldn't have made the effort to save him in Beacon in the first place if that were the case."

Her eyebrow rose higher.

"Yes, I'm sure."

She paused for a moment, switching glances between the bout and my face a few times before shrugging, and then proceeded to watch the pair with childlike curiosity.

On that front, I can somewhat understand.

Neo was his partner, and understood Torchwick's capabilities, flaws, and limits were a few of the things she knows better than anyone.

_The bastard of a man might be far stronger than an average student._ I thought while observing the two Huntsmen duke it out. _But he didn't seem too keen to deal with three or more Huntresses and Huntsmen in training at the same time, which explains why Neo was always by his side. That didn't mean that he couldn't hold out on his own when he needs to though._

_But this was Qrow we're talking about._

Torchwick was sent barreling through a few more pillars, before his back crashed into the shelves that sent all assortments of drinks rattling and teetering over the edge, raining down on him like a box full of Christmas ornaments.

Aura low or already broken, told by the severe bruises and scratches throughout his body, and his once spotless white coat drenched completely with flammable liquid, he staggered to stand upright, nearly tripping on the puddle of alcohol that gathered under his feet.

With a skidding halt, Qrow appeared on the other end of the bar counter with a murderous glint in his eyes and lunged at him once more.

They rolled a few times before skidding to a complete halt, with Qrow pinning Torchwick down to the ground via a knee to the gut, and Harbinger held high with both hands, grasping the worn hilt until his knuckles ran white.

Worn out and panting harshly, Qrow's eyes narrowed dangerously to see if the downed criminal would make any more surprise attacks while he tried to regulate his breathing.

His eyes were bloodshot, and that didn't make his snarl any less threatening.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Neo fiddle nervously with the hook of her parasol while her breath seemed to get caught in her throat.

I laid a hand on her shoulder, for all the good that it did.

Truth be told, it was more for Qrow's sake than her own.

Torchwick visibly paled when he found his cane was barely out of his reach, not that it did him any good if the way his struggling fingers pushed it away rather than draw it in was any indication, then decided to eschew his only option for defense and instead held out both hands in front of his face and prepared for the worst.

The giant blade dove down.

Neo lurched forwards.

I inhaled and held my breath.

"Alright! Alright! I surrender!"

The blade came to a complete halt a mere inch away from the thief's throat.

"See?" I smirked.

Neo's whole frame was leaned so far forward that she nearly tripped her own imbalance had I not pulled her back. Her soles were planted firmly to the front of the crate that she sat on, ready to spring forth like a marathon runner that was just waiting for the signal.

She managed to catch herself at the very last moment that resulted in a graceful stumble instead.

I heard the air rush through her nostrils before she breathed out a sigh of relief, before meeting my eyes and huffing, pouting, and then throwing her head in the opposite direction whilst crossing her arms.

Her shoulders visibly relaxed though, causing me to chuckle ever so slightly even when she was in denial.

The moment the giant blade left his throat, the orange-haired crook gasped for air and rubbed furiously while making sure his head was still attached to his neck, before his head snapped to mine with an unamused glare, and sent the bird in our direction.

I shrugged.

Neo hopped off her crate with ease, her signature smile in place once more, before teleporting to her partner's side and placing the bowler hat on top of his head.

She fixed it after the first attempt came out slightly crooked, and then nodded once she was satisfied, before patting him animatedly like a master would do to a dog had they done a good job.

Torchwick, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased to have his hat or his partner back.

"Well," Qrow holstered his weapon with a low winding whirr and a loud hiss. He was covered in sweat, sawdust, splintered wood, a bit of gravel, and a whole variety of other stuff. Pretty sure I saw a short and curly hair thrown somewhere in there, though I'm glad I missed the moment when Torchwick decided to pickpocket that.

"That settles that." Qrow continued, completely oblivious to that fact. "Let's go kid."

"Wait."

Both him and I turned around with a raised brow.

Torchwick held a hand out. "I wasn't joking from before. Let us come with you."

Qrow looked like he suddenly wanted to tear him a new one, but I just held out my hand to stop him.

Before I could feel the sudden headache that I knew for a fact was gonna come sooner rather than later, I pinched my nose ridge and sighed, before looking at the dynamic duo once more.

"Give me one good reason as to _why_ I should do that." I demanded with crossed arms.

Torchwick looked terrified as if I was just another Cinder holding a blazing palm out.

"I-I could be useful!" He tried desperately. "I could-"

"Not that!" I snapped back. "You're finally free. Why do you need to seal your fate with me once more huh?" My hands flung up in the air. "That _clearly_ didn't go well the first time around with Cinder nearly setting both your asses on fire."

"I..." Torchwick gulped at my steel-plated glare before he slowly turned to Neo, who looked just as confused as to why her partner was so persistent, and then settled on a melancholic sigh. "You... died kid."

I raised an irked brow when I waited for more and got nothing.

"And?"

"And I never thought I'd be seeing you anytime soon, or at all for that matter. Not in this lifetime at least." He added. "On that fateful day, it's been chewing at me. Why had Neo suddenly decided to blink away the moment we've escaped?"

Heterochromatic eyes averted their gaze.

"It didn't make any sense. We were a hell of a good distance away from all the chaos that was befalling Beacon yet she had more than enough panic on her face to draw in a Giant Nevermore in all on her own." The charismatic thief stated. "I thought she might've forgotten something fatally crucial, something for us to hold against Cinder if she finds us, something that could mean life and death for us."

Neo didn't seem capable of meeting my eyes.

"When she returned empty-handed, all quiet and full of soot, I had gotten worried that whatever she was searching for might've been burned to ashes."

"But I never thought it would be because she wanted to save someone she holds dear." His soft chuckle became a somewhat teasing snicker while he placed a hand on her head as I did earlier. "Guess I know not what, but who it was she got so worried about."

_In some twisted sort of logic, _I thought as I stared at Neo_. Saving Torchwick's life did help bring Neo to our side..._

"I've got to say," He hummed. "I'm impressed. Not anyone could make a weapon capable of taking down an Atlesian battleship without somehow getting caught or screwing it up first."

"I doubt the sole reason you wanted to come with us is to shower me with praises Torchwick." I snarled back.

Torchwick, with Neo's help, sat upright before digging into the left pocket of his coat, before lighting up his cigar and drawing in a large sum of smoke into his lungs before letting out a snort.

"You're right," He laughed. "I refuse to believe you're that dumb. Especially after taking out someone like Cinder."

"I don't have all night." I pointed out. "Get to the point."

"The moment I realized Neo had found an out, I thought I was free. Free not only from Cinder," Torchwick admitted. "But also free from my past life to start anew. I thought... " He faced his partner. "I thought that if only Neo was there with me, that it would all turn out okay."

My fingers dug into my gloves as I tried to retain my patience, before letting it go with one, deep breath.

_He's stalling..._

Looked like it couldn't be helped, considering his charismatic nature.

Torchwick sat cross-legged and drew in more smoke. Qrow rolled his eyes at his statement, no doubt thinking it an act to invoke pity and shot a glance at me to see if I actually believed it.

Despite my patience being very close to snapping, I gave an unwilling nod in his direction to silently convey the message that we'd listen through.

Even if it does sound ludicrous.

The waving of dark gray hair as his head shook told me that he didn't seem to agree, but disguised his disappointment as a 'Do as you please' sort of groan and a wave of his hand as he took a table and started to drink from one of the half-empty bottles.

Had I not needed to pay attention, I would've joined him.

"We clearly have more than enough lien from the Dust robberies to cover ourselves for the next decade, but with a face like this." Torchwick's laughter was a strained and hoarse one when he pointed towards his face. "There's no running from your past. Wanted posters had already gone international ever since I first had my encounter with Little Red. Like you said kid, once a thief, always a thief."

_So he's saying he can't escape from fate._

"But now that you're here, or... still here I guess, I wanted to at least thank you."

"For...?" I raised my brow.

A question I already know the answer to, but one I needed to specify for the sake of this making any sense at all.

_He can't follow us._ My mind warned needlessly. _He'd just get killed all over again._

"For well... giving me a chance I obviously don't deserve. It was nice for a while." The thief chuckled. "I've done nothing but cause you kids trouble, yet you still saved me. Also," He added when I was just about to just accept his gratitude.

The orange-haired criminal took a deep breath.

"You helped took care of Neo for me when I couldn't," He smiled, and for once, it wasn't a sarcastic one. "And that deserves credit. She means the world to me and-"

"You're dating someone half your age?" I interjected with a scrunched up face.

"No I-"

"That explains your interest for Little Red-"

"Would you just listen!" A cold beat of sweat ran down the side of his head as Qrow spun in our direction.

He took another deep breath and only let it go once Qrow turned back to his drink.

"Just for once in my fucked up, train wreck of a life, let me do the right thing and owe someone, that someone being you," He specified in case it wasn't obvious enough. "A favor. Not as Torchwick the thief, but as Torchwick... the parent."

My jaw dropped to the floor.

Qrow yawned into his palm.

I pointed at Torchwick as my mouth remained open, before switching to Neo and back a few times.

"You... her... " Both arms crossed across my chest as I invertedly pointed to both people at once. "Cinder?"

"FUCK NO!"

He recoiled when Qrow's eyes narrowed dangerously, before coughing into a fist and continuing.

"Neo was a street orphan when I found her." Neo's expression was blank and distant as Torchwick seemed to close his eyes and dwell in the distant memory. "She was thoroughly abused over... and over by men much larger than her." He snorted as he slowly seemed to scan the area with the tip of his cane, motioning around the bar. "Oh, how the tables have turned." He wiped a theatrically fake tear from his mascaraed eyes. "They grow up so fast."

"I'm listening..."

"I found her at an abandoned alley on my way to work."

I had to do a second take while Torchwick just smiled innocently.

"You what?" I gawked.

"Hey, I wasn't always Vale's most renowned thief." He chuckled back at the memory. "Anyway, bleeding, knee-deep in snow, and on the brink of death with a box of matchsticks to keep her warm."

Then, his face darkened. "And well, covered in... I don't think you need to imagine _that_ hard with what I've told you." His face scrunched up, and I averted my gaze to look anywhere but the girl in question. "All she wanted was food and warmth with only a box of matchsticks to offer. The first thing they did? Kick her out to starve." He hissed the words out through gritted teeth. "She barely had the strength to even walk at the time. She was so desperate for warmth that she nearly burned her own fingers off by lighting the entire box."

I hummed, but didn't bother to cut him off.

"Sometimes it bothers me." He smiled cruelly. "What if I had taken an alternate route to work? What if I came just a minute too late?" He puffed a large sum of smoke as he stared towards the ceiling. The lit end of his cigar glowed furiously before falling to ashes.

"What if I'd found the people that had beaten and sullied her till she lost her voice? Would I have been where I am now?" He shrugged. "Or would I have been in jail for torturing them to their deaths? Guess that just some questions that I'll never know the answers to until I cross that bridge."

"That's all nice and all," I sighed. "But where is this going?"

"Right." Torchwick nodded before he straightened himself on the wooden floorboards. "Because of what you did for us at Beacon that resulted in us being well... alive, I. Owe. You." He accentuated each point with a jab of a finger in my direction. "And that's final. Also, if I could offer you some advice, I would recommend for you to call in this favor as fast as you can." Another puff of smoke left his lips as the hand with the cig rolled around the air. "I don't like leaving favors unpaid for too long, they tend to get a little... complicated to fulfill."

_Okay, that explains... a lot. _

_A favor from Torchwick himself huh?_

_If we were still in Vale where I had control over external factors, I'd be happy to oblige._

_But we were on an unbidden path to defeat an immortal Queen Goddess._

_And that isn't something anyone who values their own life wants to be a part of._

"Then don't." I said simply, causing Torchwick to nearly shoot up in shock and look up from his downed state.

"What...?"

"Don't owe me," I repeated. "Also, what favors? I don't remember asking you for one. Actually, scratch that. Will you even honor your favors? You're a thief and a liar for crying out loud! Lie, cheat, steal remember?"

"You... ?" Torchwick asked with a puzzled look on his face. "B-but... you saved me. I owe you my life and more. Everybody I've known in my lif-"

"Well I'm not_ everyone_ now am I?" I drawled with the roll of my eyes. "Not to mention almost everyone you know comes from a criminal background." I snorted.

"You don't owe me anything Torchdick." I waved off. "And neither does Neo." I added quickly when his mouth widened in horror.

_Though she might've already repaid me in her own way back at the Fall of Beacon..._

My lips unwittingly tingled.

_Damn hormones..._

Neo didn't seem too displeased at the idea if her red-tinted cheeks were anything to go by.

"Then... nothing? Off the hook, just like that?" Her partner stared at the ground long and good.

"I guess," I shrugged off easily. "I saved you on my own accord. Considering what you'd done, I would've left you for dead if you'd continue to pester us at your own free will." I chuckled when Neo tried to get in between us. "But I knew Cinder had you between a rock and a hard place. Besides, I had my own reasons that I needed Neo for the Fall, so I think that's a fair trade."

"Still I-"

"Ah-ah, no means no Lumiere." I chided with a wave of my fingers. "If what you want is to avoid the attention of the big players, the last thing you'd want is to come with me. Also," I added when he made to complain. "You're doing a great job at laying low already. I won't be there to bail you out the second time." I spun on my boots and started to stroll towards the exit. "I doubt anyone but Cinder would consider you a loose end to tie up. You're less significant than an ant to her employer."

I felt two pairs of eyes confusedly boring into the back of my head, as if waiting for me to take him up on that favor and say this was some sort of sick joke, a cocky remark to fall back on later.

"Watch these footsteps but never follow," I called over my shoulder. "That is... If you still want to live tomorrow."

And with that, I walked out, Qrow following not far behind.

_Weiss's POV_

Having suitors that approached her in hopes of having a chance with the heiress of the SDC was nothing new to Weiss.

Quite honestly, she had her fair share of spoiled children from other monopolizing companies to turn down that it just eventually became an average Monday.

Once upon a time, she might've felt guilt or shame well up in her stomach for doing so. It was so long ago since her first denial that she couldn't possibly remember.

But when she'd learned their real intentions behind the saccharine masks they wore, that feeling of guilt soon became muted and replaced with doubt and disgust, and eventually, the heiress had treated it as more of a routine.

Her father had disapproved of her actions of course, reassuring his _friends_, if Weiss could even call them that, that she was young, naive, and didn't understand the apparent importance of making and retaining connections, persuading them that she would eventually change her mind in the not so distant future.

In doing so however, it prompted them to try and try over and over again to only get the same result.

Persistently obnoxious little bunch, they were.

It got annoying after a while, but the last thing she wanted was to be seen getting angry in public.

Like Pyrrha, she had a mask to maintain, a certain standard to keep in mind when out in the public eye.

She hated that she couldn't be like she was with her team.

Open, loving, caring.

But at least, during those times, she was the one making her own decisions.

She was in control.

Weiss _had_ had the option to turn them down time and time again. And turn them down, she did.

She didn't have such a privilege to do so now.

Her father had so much as tied the knot with that... that swine of a man. To what pleasure, Weiss had no idea.

She had no idea what her father saw in that man except profit. Even then, there had been bigger players from much larger companies beforehand, and she, as always, had declined their heirs politely.

Even when her father had scolded her behind closed doors, he'd never tried to force her hand.

A sudden change in attitude over the course of night would've been far too suspicious and thus far, she stood her ground without any problems what so ever.

So, Weiss had to ask herself.

What changed?

_He wasn't himself._ Weiss tried to tell herself. _Forcing her to serve a potential business partner was very unlike him._

The most he'd ever push her was the concerts she sang in.

Mostly because trusting her to entertain an 'unwanted guest' during her _teenage rebellion_ or _phase_ as he put it, could give off the wrong image. And the wrong image could possibly lead to the SDC's ruin.

A risk he was never willing to take.

Of course, Weiss doesn't know how much more of a fool her father could make of himself.

The SDC already had a reputation from using oppressed labor forces in the form of the faunus, paying them less than minimum wage.

Her father was many things. Despicable, greedy, a hypocrite, and an outright liar as long as the situation works in his favor, just to name a few.

But downright intrusive of her privacy was never one of them.

Sure, he had eyes and ears watching over her at Beacon and even had exposed that fact freely to her face, not bothering to hide the evidence at all.

But he didn't actually care about how she lived her life away from him. He just held it over her head, dangling it in front of her face to show that she was below him, to show she couldn't fully escape from his grasp no matter what happens. That she was stuck in an ultimatum.

No matter how far she ran or how long she hides for.

But as long as it didn't tarnish the SDC's reputation by making it out to the public eye, he couldn't care any less. If anything, Weiss wouldn't be surprised if he was waiting for her to make a fatal mistake and disown her.

Her sister had escaped that fate.

Oh, he'd tried.

Tried to persuade Winter nicely, and had been forced to let her go when she'd outright refused the right as the eldest. He was furious back then, complaining about the time and resources wasted in preparing his eldest daughter for the throne without it bearing fruit. It had led to her taking the full brunt of his wrath. Not that she'd ever hold her sister accountable when it came to her mistreatment.

Even when it was technically her fault.

He tried to do the same to her with much harsher methods, more strict and discipline in hopes that she'd be cowed into submission.

Weiss frowned.

To her regret, his methods _had_ worked to some extent.

Had she remained still and followed his methods, forever isolated from ever meeting her friends in the first place, she might've still been the prim and proper heiress that her father had molded into his image.

And yes, she meant her real friends, not those fake ones from her time in Atlas.

The so-called friends she'd made throughout the years were nothing but a farce, an act. Some were literally just that, being hired actors by her father to keep her in check, not that she'd known at the time, and neither did she cared now that she'd found some genuine ones.

She might've even remained the cold _Ice Queen_ everyone keeps referring her to.

Gods, she'd miss that stupid nickname they'd given her.

She missed her team. Her friends.

But no, she'd had to be brought back to stupid Atlas to reclaim that stupid title that dangled on top of her head like a piece of premium meat.

She had to pretend to be her father's pet once more and obey lest she risks giving up the title of an heiress.

That lump that rose up in her throat wasn't going down anytime soon.

She had worked so hard for her freedom. Earned it even. And yet, despite all that, she found herself unable to do anything when presented the opportunity.

Which brings her to the present.

Here she was. Sneaked out of her family mansion with nothing but a red scarf around her neck to keep her warm and a large, white, hardcover suitcase to house both Myrtenaster and her belongings. Opportunities to sneak out didn't present itself often, with Ironwood often coming to her father's studies to discuss actions for the halted Dust routes or that obese mongrel coming for a visit each time her father _conveniently_ had a meeting.

Something was off about him, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

At any rate, that was all about to be left behind her.

Klein had been a dear and helped her with a secret passage known only to few. For the sake of the only family left in the mansion, she just hoped he wasn't caught.

Yet as she stared into the empty seats of the cargo ship, she couldn't bring herself to move.

If she yearned it, craved for freedom after getting a whole year of care and love, why won't her legs step forward?

"Kid," A tired voice called out from the cockpit. "You coming or what?"

"Just... just a second." She replied with a hitched breath, and not just because the temperatures are below ideal.

"I don't have all day. You either get on the ship, or not at all. I'll even give you a full refund if you change your mind. Won't hold it out against you."

"No no," Weiss persisted. "Just a few minutes longer, please." She begged as she adjusted the red scarf around her neck.

The voice from within the cockpit tried to say something, but settled on sighing instead as the creaking of rusty armrests could be heard.

"Just make it quick."

"Thank you..." Dried lips whispered under a misty breath.

Here she was, about to experience the taste of freedom once more.

All she needed to do was take less than three steps to get on the airship, and she'll be on the way to Vale once again, where her friends were waiting for her.

Her grip on the piece of cloth tightened.

But that'll mean that the title of heiress was all but lost to her. Whitely will no doubt take over, and like Winter, she had all but abandoned her brother the moment she had headed to Beacon.

No doubt he's the one Jaques won't ever let go, being the last child to inherit the title.

Her hand slowly rose up to touch the scar that ran from her eyebrow to the top of her cheek.

Pale eyes slowly closed as a misty wisp manifested into white-clad armor with a sword just as tall came to life within the darkness.

Arma Gigas.

The first time she'd ever face such an opponent in order to persuade her father that being a Huntress was what she'd wanted. What she was capable of. What she would put her mind to. What she would eventually become.

Why? She does not know. Perhaps it was so that she could defend herself from the likes of the White Fang that hunted those that dawned the Schnee family crest for more than a decade. Perhaps it was because she refuses to see the world burn, and would use her grandfather's gifts to the world to cleanse it of any necessary evil, to prove that all Schnees aren't the same.

She hadn't unlocked her Semblance then, hadn't even fought her first Grimm.

All she had to go by was fencing practice with the best mentors Atlas had to offer and sole motivation with a touch of stubbornness.

A normal person would've fled in the face of death. They would've given up the moment they realized they were given the impossible task and accepted fate, no matter how cruel.

She didn't.

She literally fought for her freedom, and it nearly costed her eye. The permanent nick of her skin was a reminder of how close it was. Sometimes, she would have nightmares of it.

Just a mere hair's breadth away, and she could've been struck half-blind.

Clenched hands shook at the memory. That... machine, built specifically to be the massive roadblock that impeded her path and nearly cost her her freedom.

And what had her father done?

Shook his head at her victory, told her to sing one last time as a large sendoff to the people of Atlas and wasn't even there during her departure.

The memory of it still stung but... she never thought she'd be facing it again so soon.

And when she had trained for the Vytal Festival and met Louis, she had faced death yet again.

Worse. She'd summoned it.

The very reason she'd warned him to flee in the first place was that she knew what it was capable of.

She was terrified.

Terrified not only because she knew she was going to die right then and there in the hands of her own familiar, but because he would.

Yet, like her, he faced it, and like her...

He'd won.

That frustrated her to no end.

How was he able to defeat it so easily?

How was it that she wasn't capable of taking command then, despite being able to alter the flow of conversation at a gala and all the combat prowess she had displayed?

How was it that she was not worthy? How had she lost in single fights, time and time again, while he had done nothing but win?

Was it his knowledge of this cruel reality that had pushed him beyond his limits? Or was it because of some... upper advantage?

That... thing within him.

A small spark of what she'd recognized as ugly jealousy twisted her gut, threatening to turn her lips into a snarl. She had to swallow to keep it down.

She shook her head wildly, causing the asymmetrical ponytail to sway from side to side.

Being cooped up was causing her to lose her mind.

What was she talking about? Of course she doesn't want that.

She had more than enough on her hands with her father.

The last thing she wanted was something internally constricted taking control of her life without the need for her opinion.

She drew in a deep breath, and took a step forward.

Her heels merely tapped against cold steel, but it was deafening to her ears, echoing all around the empty pad.

This was it.

She was going to leave it all.

Her father imposing his will to act in line she could very well accept.

But for an engagement?

That was where she drew the line.

Her father wanted her to spread her legs for a man she had never met before.

No way.

Nobody in their right mind would look at that... _man_, and Weiss felt that she was being generous there, and even approach him.

Pedro Von Einzbern.

Fancy name for a disgusting pig in a suit.

The way he never let go of his musical instrument set off some alarms within her head.

As the cold gust of wind cut through her thoughts, blowing gently at her dress, she glanced behind her to the mansion she'd be leaving once more.

_Sorry, Blake..._ Weiss sniffled as she ran a palm to wipe a cascading tear that trailed down the faded scar. _It's just too much..._

Deep down, she'd knew her faunus teammate would wholly understand and forgive her. Yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty and saddened that she'd be leaving her responsibility, the daunting task that she'd worked years for, and let it go down the drain.

"Time to go." He grumbled, before turning back to the flight controls.

Once she gets on that plane, there'd be no turning back.

Another step forward.

"Weiss!"

Despite the voice within her head telling her not to turn back, her body betrayed her and did the complete opposite.

"Get down from there this instant!" Jaques Schnee stormed forward with a furious snarl. "Pilot! Do not embark!"

"Kid?" He asked.

"I'll pay you double of what she'd given you, do not take off!" Her father exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sir...?" Weiss's face paled as her mouth opened in horror.

The roaring of the engines died down as he met her eyes over his shoulder. "Sorry kid, the money does the talking."

"B-but I-!" Weiss had to force herself to hold herself from choking. Freedom had been close.

So very close.

Stupid doubts.

Stupid lingering thoughts and regrets.

Now she was paying the price of her own actions.

They could've been long gone if she'd just followed the pilot's instructions, yet she stood there stuck in the past.

"Weiss, get over here. NOW!" The businessman didn't even bother to approach any further, knowing full well that the pilot's loyalty was bound to his command as long as he was the one supplying more lien, making Weiss's hung her head low as she shamefully took a defiant step forward.

She hissed through gritted teeth while tears stung the edges of her eyes.

"Don't be so harsh."

That voice...

No...

Bad just got worse.

As Weiss looked past her father, she saw a towering figure that seemed to detach himself from the shadows, pipe in hand as even her father spun around in shock.

"S-sir Pedro, I can explain that my actions are not of my-!"

He held out a fat hand.

"Nobody is to blame for this. Miss Schnee must be very, very, _lonely_, maybe even traumatized from the events that befell Beacon a few months ago that she couldn't help but worry about her friends." The obese giant chuckled. "Isn't that right?"

Despite not wanting to respond to anything he says, she nodded.

"Nobody is to blame." He repeated. "But it's getting late. We should all head back to the mansion and get some rest. I don't mean to interfere in family business, but it could all be postponed to tomorrow."

"Y-yes." Jaques had to restrain himself from sweating on the spot for being caught by a business partner in such an unsightly mood. He disguised his nervousness by straightening his tie. "Of course. It's been a long day and we should all get some rest. "

Weiss had to restrain not to gape at the sudden change of moods.

Once her father goes on a rampage, nothing is stopping him from taking it out on a servant or his family.

Nothing.

"You could also delay her singing concert, push it back by a few more months." Pedro offered.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Jaques shook his head somewhat, as if trying to get rid of a pest. He quickly stilled with stiff shoulders once Pedro decided to play a long, low hum with his instrument.

It fell to his side a second later.

"I know that the people of Atlas couldn't wait to welcome and listen to the heiress of the SDC once more, but it looks like she needs time and all the support she needs to accept what happened at her previous Academy."

The double-chinned musician nodded over to her, and Weiss tried to read his intentions beyond two small dots hidden behind lumps of fat he could even call eyes. "You have my condolences."

She just stared at him for a moment.

Her father spoke in her stead.

"She's stunned to silence from your words and she gratefully accepts." Jaques sounded far too calm, but she couldn't see his face for he had his back turned to her. "You speak of wise words, Pedro..."

The name was a bit sultry and drawled upon, as if her father just a tad bit too much to drink.

"What are friends for Jaques?" The fat man chuckled as he spun on his heels. "What are friends for..."

* * *

**A/N**

**Okay, a few things to address here.**

**First of all, I know that in Volume 4/5 Weiss willingly went onto the cargo ship immediately, but that was after Whitely was announced heir somewhat. After all hopes were lost for her and she didn't have a place in Atlas other than be just another pretty face.**

**Second, I know the full name of Pedro is a bit weird, and many of you may think that it's a crossover fic. It's not. It may not make sense now, but hopefully it will make sense to you all later. As for his first though, to be honest I just gave the guy a random name. **

**Third, both the last chapter and this one had fairy tales incorporated to their backstories, which was Old man Shopkeep's and Neo's, so if you can spot them out, then congrats to you! Maybe I'll tell you if you're right in the next Reviewer Sessions.**

**Anyways, minor coughing here and there, nothing serious so far. Released this chapter 2 hours earlier than expected but I'd figured 2 hours of extra sleep is better than nothing.**

**P atreon . com(/)R26**

**Now, onto the Reviews.**

* * *

**Reviewer Session**

**Kage-Kitsune9001: Huh, was wondering where you'd gone last chapter. Hope you have enough butter on that popcorn to sit you through this!**

**Paradox0.5White: I don't think his Semblance was ever announced, though I guess you're right xD.**

**DankAnon: Well, that's a lovely peach right there. Yes, I know it may look like Qrow missed an opportunity to take that as something more, but with all the crooks and bandits that were just lying around the floor, I wouldn't blame him for thinking otherwise. A rematch between Neo and Yang huh? I still remembered how imbalanced she was on the train, let's hopefully never find out what they could do in an open field.**

**Sacke110: Hey man, looks like you've had even more additions to your list of favorited fics. Good for you! It's great to see some people update every once and a while. Yes, it had been one of mine too. Unfortunately, pretty sure I woke up with an insect on my bedside once. Can't remember what though, think it was a roach. Thanks, that's what I wanted to convey, where it's not completely black and white where one invokes only pity because they're _normal_, but a mix of two in between. If you'd like that, then you're sure as hell gonna enjoy this chapter. Cya around!**


End file.
